By: G. Bennie Bravo Johnson
Hon. G. Wasuwah Barvoul, Sr. is appealing to the national government for a significant increment in the 2026 national budget for the Liberia National Fire Service (LNFS).
The LNFS boss said the increment will pave the way for the construction of a US$20,407,000.000 state-of-the-art headquarters of the entity on Ashmun Street, and the construction and equipment of twenty-one fire stations across the country.
He made the statement in an interview with our reporter on Friday, September 12, 2025, in Monrovia.
Director General Barvoul, Sr. said the construction of the modern headquarters for the LNFS will save government a lot of money as the LNFS is currently renting the building it occupies.
“Here, we are renting. It is very costly for the government to rent,” Director General Barvoul said. “We need a significant increment in our budget, and we will advance our proposed budget to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to see reason to forward it to the Legislature for allocation,” he stated.
The LNFS boss emphasized that with the passage of its over US$20M budget, twenty-one fire stations will be built and equipped across the country and six fire stations renovated and equipped with fire service men deployed to them.
He said the proposed budget also covers logistics, external and internal trainings, salary increment for service men, amongst other significant items for enhanced fire prevention and awareness.
At the same time, Hon. Barvoul, Sr. has secured several firefighting equipment from the International Training Group (ITG) for the LNFS.
Some items donated by the ITG include sixty feet of fire attack and supply hoses, seventy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits, sixty boots, thirteen automated external defibrillators, fire helmets, EMS medical shock suits, as well as other essential firefighting tools.
The LNFS boss said the items were donated to the LNFS as a result of his attendance at the International Association of Firefighters Conference (IAFC) in Orlando, Florida, the United States of America.
According to him, the ITG has promised to visit Liberia later this year to conduct additional advanced training for the service men of the LNFS.
Meanwhile, the LNFS has begun the distribution of two sets of new fire service uniforms, two pairs of shoes to employees of the LNFS, and the distribution of firefighting motorbikes to some departments and counties.
