->Seven major fire protection policies to strengthen and safeguard the occupational safety for fire service personnel, which are promoted with joint efforts by central and local governments

On 2024/06/13, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) reported on the “Refined Program for Improving the Fire and Disaster Relief Safety” at the Executive Yuan meeting. According to the MOI, in order to strengthen safety and rights & interests related to fire disaster relief, the central and local governments have joined hands to adopt short, medium, and long-term strategies to promote the seven major fire protection policies, namely “bolster public safety”, “ensure occupational safety”, “increase fire manpower”, “supplement fire equipment”, “eliminate outdated vehicles”, “optimize buildings/ facilities”, and “refine education/ training”, while proposing 22 mid-term programs with a total fund of approximately NT$26 billion for the gradual procurement of new fire trucks/ fire disaster relief equipment to phase out the old ones, strengthen disaster relief capacity, further strengthen the management system; thus promoting and continuously improving fire service safety and health framework system from the institutional, legal, and planning aspects, and moreover, shaping the “fire safety culture” from the point, line, area, to the entire network, thereby effectively reducing firefighter casualties.

According to the MOI, in terms of “bolster public safety”, a draft amendment to the Fire Protection Law has been proposed to increase the disaster prevention responsibilities and penalties of operators, and significantly increase the penalties for operators who violate regulations and add related criminal liabilities. After today (13) administrative The Court will pass it and send the letter to the Legislative Yuan for review.

In terms of “ensure occupational safety”, taking into account the particularity of firefighting work, on the basis of the existing Civil Service Protection Act and Protective Measures for Safety and Health of the Civil Service, a special chapter on the protection of the safety and health of fire service personnel has been added to the draft amendment to the Fire Service Act to enhance the protection of fire service personnel. Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan has approved the Mid-Term Program for Building Work Safety and Health Operations for Fire Service Personnel for a period from 2025 to 2029, with a total fund of approximately NT$1.1 billion. This Program is to assist local fire agencies in establishing work safety operations support teams, handle internal environmental inventory-taking and improvement projects, expand the training of incident safety officers (ISO) and fire safety and health, and establish health examination and management for fire service personnel, so as to assist fire agencies in implementing occupational safety operations.

In terms of “increase fire manpower”, firefighting manpower has been actively increased, whereas local governments are encouraged to propose the number of people they need based on their actual duty operations, while accounting for the retired manpower in the estimation. So far, the training center capacity has been expanded to 1,300 people. In line with the needs of local governments, fire service manpower has been increased/ supplemented in diverse ways, including increase of the enrollment quote for the Fire Service Special Examination to 1,000 heads, and expansion of the enrollment quota for the Taiwan Police College to 400 students, so as to achieve the goal of manpower increase/ supplement.

In terms of “supplement fire equipment”, technological disaster relief is to be introduced and personal equipment is to be strengthened. Two med-term programs are under way during the period from 2024 to 2025, with a total fund of approximately NT$2.6 billion, which is to assist local fire agencies in replenishing 88 sets of infrared thermal imaging drones, 88 disaster relief robots, and 50,000+ sets of personal protection equipment (PPE) for fire service personnel to strengthen disaster relief safety.

In terms of “eliminate outdated vehicles”, approximately NT$10.8 billion was invested since 2020 to replace 346 old fire trucks; going forward, approximately fund is to be invested on 181 special fire service vehicles and special equipment for chemical, biological, radioactive, and nuclear (CBRN) disaster handling to enhance disaster relief capabilities and construct a regional joint defense mechanism.

In terms of “optimize buildings/ facilities”, NT$4.2 billion have been invested in promoting seismic reinforcement on up to 105 fire buildings/ facilities to create a safe working environment for fire service personnel; as well as, in improving interior environments on up to 151 locations of those buildings/ facilities of over 20 years – hence, the strengthening of the protection capacity of the science and technology park, the improvement of the capacity and facilities of disaster prevention and protection training, and the improvement of the fire buildings/ facilities.

In terms of “refine education/ training”, seven new fire protection professional trainings are promoted, including incident safety officers, self-rescue of fire service personnel, etc. First, fire agencies need to be assisted in training up more professional instructors, and trainers that can train other trainers-to-be. Next, fire agencies in each jurisdiction needs to carry out extensive fire professional training to strengthen disaster relief benefits and safety training.

Furthermore, as per the MOI, in addition to actively promoting fire duty safety, we also strive to fight for the rights and interests of fire service personnel. For example, in response to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) seen in major disasters and accidents, a special subsidy of NT$5 million per year has been provided since 2023. Amendments have made to the Regulations for Caring Police Officers Resulting in Total or Semi-Disabled due to Violence or Unexpected Hazards while on-duty, where new provisions are added for additional subsidy items (such as privately-hired caregivers, transportation expenses, and meals expenses for placement and care during hospitalization), and the maximum monthly subsidy amount for placement and care is increased from NT$50,000 to $85,000. Moreover, the maximum monthly overtime pay for firefighters is increased to NT$19,000 per person; the premium for hazardous duties is increased by 15%; the maximum monthly supplement for front-line field firefighters is increased by NT$2,530. Finally, a Payment Schedule of Service Allowance for Shift Workers of the Police, Fire, Immigration, and Airborne Service Personnel, Performing Hazardous Duties Late at Nights has also been formulated, where firefighters performing duties outside the base/station without accommodation between 0:00 and 6:00 are to be compensated NT$1oo per hour per person.

At last, as emphasized by the MOI, in order to strengthen the safety of fire service personnel in disaster relief, various work plans are to be actively promoted continuously. It is hoped that through the joint efforts of the central and local governments, the upmost safety guarantee for fire service personnel can be fully ensured.