Japan will allocate $14mln for updating fire fighting equipment

ArmInfo. Armenia will receive  from Japan fire-fighting equipment worth about 1.5 billion Japanese  yen or $ 14 million for the Ministry of Emergency Situations of  Armenia.  The proposal on concluding a grant agreement between the  governments of Armenia and Japan on the program "Improvement of fire  fighting equipment" was approved at a meeting of the Armenian  government on August 31.

According to Emergency Situation head of Armenia David Tonoyan,  within the framework of the grant program Armenia will receive 39  units of fire fighting equipment. Deliveries are scheduled to begin  in the first half of 2019 and completed at the same time.

According to the justification reference to the draft decision, the  agreement is aimed at prompt response from the Rescue Service of  Armenia. Some communities of these areas are located at a distance of  32-48 km from the deployment of rescue teams, and along the  serpentine roads of high mountain areas the technician can not move  faster than 20-30 km / hour, as a result of which the aid ripens with  a delay of 50- 60 minutes, becoming from this meaningless. During the  summer fires, due to the same risks, the response becomes sometimes  meaningless. As a result, material and moral damage is caused to the  environment, organizations and citizens of the region.

Besides, it is informed that the technique, because of its moral and  physical obsolescence, has become useless. After the collapse of the  Soviet Union, the rolling stock of fire trucks in Armenia was  practically not updated - as a result of recent failures in the work  of fire equipment. Back in 2010, 28 units of fire fighting equipment  were received from Japan, and now a new grant agreement is signed.  "The experience of operating fire trucks purchased under the previous  assistance program showed that Japanese fire fighting equipment is  better and more reliable. Proceeding from this, there is a need to  update the fire fighting equipment park of Armenia within the  framework of the grant agreement, "the draft says.