The Ministry of the Interior is considering an amendment to regulations to provide liability insurance for volunteers, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) said yesterday.
The ministry has concluded initial negotiations with local governments, all of which were supportive of an amendment to the Regulations for the Organization Procedure, Training Program, Drill and Service of Volunteer Firefighters (義勇消防組織編組訓練演習服勤辦法), Chen said.
Insurance would not take much funding, and even counties and cities that are less well-off could easily provide funding with some financial discipline, he added.
The amendment would ensure that the families of volunteer firefighters would be provided for if the firefighters die, as they are likely to be called upon often with the increasing occurrence of compound disasters as a consequence of climate change, the ministry said.
Local governments would set the insurance rates, but the ministry would ensure that the base rate is reasonable, the ministry added.
The nation has 37,729 volunteer firefighters, with 5,564 volunteers registered in New Taipei City, 3,850 in Taichung and 3,538 in Tainan, official statistics showed.
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