FIRE and Ambulance crews in East New Britain have joined forces as the St John Ambulance temporarily relocated to Kokopo Fire Station today.
The move will allow much closer working relations between the two emergency services.
As part of a planned strategic partnership St John and PNG Fire Service are collocating ambulances at fire stations around the country.
Commissioner Matt Cannon said collocating ambulances with the Fire Service has a two-fold benefit for the public.
“The collocations allow our ambulance officers and the firefighters to cross-train and collaborate in emergency response.
“The sharing of facilities is ensuring both organisations deliver the best value to the public from our limited government funding,” he said.
With firefighters trained in the basics of first aid, they can help ambulance officers at the scene including trauma and cardiac arrest.
St John has also collocated ambulances at fire stations in National Capital District, Morobe and plans are in place to put in place a similar arrangement in Simbu in the coming year.
Mr Cannon thanked the Chief Fire Officer Bill Roo for his tremendous support and effort to make the initiative happen.
“The Chief Fire Officer and I share a similar vision for emergency response services in PNG. I am proud to work alongside the CFO and thank him for his tremendous leadership in bringing about this initiative,” he said.
St John has also collocated ambulances at fire stations in NCD, Morobe, and plans are in place to replicate the same in Simbu in the coming year.