Wu Yinong, a candidate for the by-election of legislators in Taipei's third constituency, held a press conference on the 20th to express his political views and responded to questions from reporters.

(Photo by reporter Tu Jianrong)

[Reporter Cai Sipei/Taipei Report] Legislative by-elections for the third constituency in Taipei City (North Songshan, Zhongshan) will be voted on January 8 next year. Democratic Progressive Party candidate Wu Yinong published his political views on fire protection this morning, pointing out that the local government’s firefighting manpower is insufficient, Problems such as equipment and vehicles are outdated.

Wu said that although fire protection is a matter of local autonomy, the responsibility should not be entirely borne by the local government. He called on the central government to prepare a special budget to speed up the addition of firefighting manpower and the replacement of firefighting vehicles.

Wu Yinong held a political opinion conference on "Resilient Society - Strengthening Fire and Disaster Relief Energy" this morning. Wu said that Taiwan's fire protection system is a national family. The central government is responsible for planning policies, and local governments are responsible for the actual establishment of fire fighting capabilities. The human resources of the city shall be implemented in accordance with the local institutional law, and the number of firefighters shall be allocated by the local government.

Wu pointed out that all counties and cities in Taiwan have common problems in firefighting, such as insufficient manpower, outdated vehicles, and the need for supplementary equipment. The local chiefs did not pay much attention to fire protection, resulting in a severe shortage of manpower, serious outdated disaster relief equipment and vehicles, which has become a national security issue.

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Wu Yinong said that according to the data in April this year, the number of firefighters in Taiwan is 19,808, and the actual number is 16,313. The firefighting population-to-service ratio is 1:1423, which means that there is only one firefighter among the 1,423 people in Taiwan. The fire population service is far lower than 1:500 in the United States, 1:700 in Japan, and 1:900 in Singapore, which makes firefighters overworked.

Wu pointed out that although the central government proposes countermeasures against the shortage of firefighting manpower, it requires local governments to increase the number of firefighters with a target of 3,000 in five years.

According to the statistics of the Fire Department, as of the end of 2019, there were 97 fire trucks over 20 years old nationwide, and the proportion of fire trucks over 15 years old in Taipei City and Taichung City was 30% and 32%, respectively.

Wu Yinong also said that the unit price of fire-fighting vehicles is extremely high. Although the central government has increased the replacement budget, other old fire-fighting vehicles still need to be replaced by local governments. Most local governments do not have the financial resources to speed up the replacement.

Wu Yinong advocated that the central government should take the leading responsibility for improving firefighting and disaster relief capabilities, systematically strengthen the medium-term plan for firefighting manpower support, and reward and subsidize local governments in proportion to increase firefighting manpower every year.

Wu also hopes that the central government will formulate a special budget to speed up the preparation of vehicles and equipment, and integrate the resources of local fire departments to prepare for the establishment of the "National SAR & EMS System", improve the mid-range plan of search and rescue and rescue energy, and subsidize local firefighters The bureau has integrated a heavy-duty search and rescue rescue team that crosses counties and cities and meets the certification standards of the United Nations and the United States. If a major disaster occurs in the country, it can be dispatched by the central government.