The Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority (SFESA) firefighting abilities were boosted with the addition of a firetruck and firefighting equipment from Fire Rescue Victoria.

Additionally, SFESA and Fire Rescue Victoria signed a new Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday marking a new chapter in the partnership between the two organisations that spans over 30 years.

The fire truck was delivered last month aboard the Australian Defence Vessel Reliant. The vehicle previously served the communities of Victoria before it was fully serviced and gifted to SFESA to continue serving Samoa’s communities.

Australian High Commissioner to Samoa Will Robinson said he was pleased to see the renewed commitment to this partnership.

“Many of you will recall that the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade (now FRV) donated three fire trucks following Samoa’s tragic 2009 earthquake and tsunami,” he said.

“The first was dedicated to FESA volunteer Levaopolo Peter Letiu who lost his life early in the earthquake response, arrived on HMAS Tobruk on Remembrance Day 2009. The subsequent two units arrived on HMAS Kanimbla in 2010.”

He said Australians were deeply touched in 2020 when Samoans donated over A$100,000 to support the bushfire response.

“More than 10 years on, I am delighted to see this FRV water tanker make the same 5,000km journey across the Pacific, on Australian Defence Vessel Reliant, to support SFESA’s work in serving Samoa’s communities,” he said.

“Ahead of the voyage, a team of FRV mechanics cleaned and prepared the water tanker, including Samoan diesel mechanic Angela Pula, from the villages of Falealupo and Falelatai.

“Ms Pula shared her excitement in seeing this water tanker find new life in her homeland of Samoa.”

Mr. Robinson said personal connections and partnerships spanned oceans and transcend borders, bringing people together.

He said these connections and partnerships are essential in addressing shared challenges in this increasingly volatile modern era.