FIREWOMAN ASSAULTED
A firewoman sustained nose injury and bruised upper lips last Thursday, following a man allegedly punched her on the face.
Delilah Alex was among a team of firefighters attending to a house being on fire at Hohola 4 in PNG’s Port Moresby.
PNG Fire Service reported on its Facebook page that being a firefighter was not an easy job.
It said it had its fair share of challenges when attending a fire call in a city like Port Moresby.
HER ACCOUNT OF THE INCIDENT
Alex said her fire crew from the Boroko fire station on April 22nd were the first to respond after receiving a fire call at 10am.
We managed to arrive some time later. While my colleagues were trying to contain the fire from spreading, I went down the street in search of a fire hydrant.
As I was walking over to the other side of the road, a man walked up towards me. He suddenly swung at me, hitting my face. The force of his punch knocked me to the ground. He walked away.
Ms Alex.
In addition, she said the assailant later went up to the other firefighters.
Further, she said he began arguing with them for attending to the fire late and being slow in putting it out.
Furthermore, Ms Alex said after the assault, blood started gushing out from her nose. She retreated to the safety of the fire truck, she recalled. Related reading: https://postcourier.com.pg/female-firefighter-assaulted-on-duty/
St John Ambulance attended to her injured nose and bruised upper lip.
“It was disappointing to see a police vehicle which had arrived during my ordeal. But, they did not try to intervene or arrest this person,” Ms Alex said.
ATTACK CONDEMNED
Waigani fire station commander, Superintendent Arifeae Farapo condemned the attack. More reading: https://pngsun.com/2021/04/26/parliamentarians-pledge-for-gold-standard/
He said the general public must be aware that it is home owners or landlords’ responsibility to keep their homes or properties fire safe.
Please, take care of your properties. If you have any fire safety queries or need information on how to keep your homes safe from fire, visit your nearest fire station. We will gladly assist you as it is our mandated duty.
Mr Farapo
He said the assault on the female fire fighter is unbecoming.
Commander Farapo is appealing to everyone to respect and assist the fire service and firefighters during a fire or other emergencies
