Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho has commended the National Fire Authority (NFA) for their response assistance during the rains from Tropical Cyclone Josie.

Brigadier-General Qiliho said the Fiji Police Force was grateful to the NFA for the level of preparedness and quick reaction in coming to assist them.

“Where we have gaps in our capabilities in search and rescue, the NFA has been able to come and fill in those gaps,” he said.

“We want to enhance our capabilities in terms of training and equipment so that we are prepared to be able to assist the other agencies like the NFA.

“We are the first responders all the time. We are the lead agency in regards to the search and rescue.

“In most cases when people do not take the heed of advice, police officers have to put themselves at risk by going out in the swift currents and flooded areas to assist in evacuating people and retrieval of missing persons.

“We are working hard in trying to secure equipment for our officers.”

He said he had a meeting with the Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, about getting some equipment to operate in the flooded areas.

“The equipment can be pre-deployed in the flood prone areas around the country,” the Police Commissioner said.

“We are looking at appropriate equipment for example jet skis, which we can use in flooded areas and rescue people in swift currents.

“When the flash flooding occurs, it is important for us to have the right equipment to go out to assist people. The jet skis will also assist in the mishaps at sea as well.

We are looking at our role holistically in terms of the search and rescue.”

He commended the search and rescue team and the Police officers in general for their tireless work.

“I have to remind my officers to make the right judgements when responding to the call to assist the people of Fiji,” Brigadier-General Qiliho said.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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