Karagwe

The fire service in Tanzania is still in its infancy. Significant investments are being made in personnel, vehicles, and fire stations. With the help of EST experts, basic training and advanced training for firefighters are being conducted in the Karagwa District (Kagera Administrative Region), infrastructure is being established, and the pilot project to integrate volunteer firefighters is being supported.

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Full-time staff

firefighters in Tanzania

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Distance

between the stations

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for a training center

in the administrative district

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Firefighters

will be required in the future

OVERVIEW

This is Karagwe

The Kagera administrative region covers approximately 30,000 square kilometers of land in northwestern Tanzania, between Lake Victoria and the borders of Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. About three million people live in the region, with approximately 150,000 residing in the regional capital, Bukoba. Two million tons of bananas and more than 20,000 tons of coffee are grown annually in the Kagera region. Agriculture is a major source of income. Fifteen percent of households in Bukoba, located directly on Lake Victoria, depend directly or indirectly on fishing. Between 12,000 and 15,000 tons of fish are caught in the region each year. Kayanga lies at an elevation of 1,600 meters, while Bukoba is at around 1,100 meters. The highlands of the Kagera region are relatively sparsely populated outside the urban centers.

The current fire service structure in Tanzania consists solely of full-time fire stations. However, many fire stations in the Kagera region lack the necessary equipment (pumps, heavy rescue equipment, and, in particular, operational vehicles) and, quite simply, the personnel lack the necessary qualifications. In addition, there are structural shortcomings in the organization of daily station operations and emergency response activities.

THE SITUATION ON THE GROUND

CURRENT SITUATION

A full-time fire station in Bukoba is currently equipped with two fire trucks, an ambulance, and a command vehicle. Other stations in the vicinity are located in Kayanga and Biharamulo, each more than 100 kilometers away. All locations share the same problem of inadequate equipment. In many cases, the stations do not have a fire engine—or it is not operational. Equipment is rudimentary at best and is also frequently inoperable. In addition, staffing levels are far too low, and the level of training falls far short of what would be comparable to basic training in Germany. The station in Kayanga in the Karagwe district, for example, operates on a 24-hour shift system with two full-time staff members and currently has no operational fire truck on site.

UNSERE AUFGABE

HOW WE HELP

The completed training missions therefore served, on the one hand, to provide basic training and familiarize personnel with operational structures, and, on the other hand, to assess the current situation and identify existing and required equipment.

According to local officials, the Kagera region in Tanzania serves as a pilot region for integrating volunteer firefighters into the local fire departments’ structures. In addition to training full-time firefighters, we have also been training volunteer firefighters.

The training of these personnel will be advanced through additional training trips, with the goal in the medium to long term being for full-time personnel to attain a qualification comparable to that of a German group leader, and for volunteer personnel to attain a qualification comparable to that of a German firefighter or, where applicable, a fire squad leader.

PROJEKTTEAM

Unser Team für Karagwe

Unser ehrenamtliches Team für Nakuru County.

Gallery

A glimpse into our work in Karagwe

Images from Karagwe District depict a rural region in northwestern Tanzania characterized by vast landscapes, small settlements, and long distances between towns. The photos illustrate daily life and infrastructure conditions in a highly decentralized region.

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