The Fire Service is one of the most vital services of the state, directly related to the protection of human life, property, the environment and public safety.

In the interpellation requested by MP Erion Braçe on the Fire Protection and Rescue Service, Minister of Internal Affairs Besfort Lamallari said that the Fire Protection and Rescue Service is not simply an administrative structure.

"Despite all the transformation that has taken place in recent years, while also recognizing the challenges we face, our commitment is clear to continue modernizing this service, strengthening its capacities and ensuring that every Albanian citizen, in every area of ​​the country, has a faster, more professional and more efficient emergency service," said Lamallari.

Full word:

Honorable chair of the session, Thank you, Mr. Deputy, for the requested interpellation, as it gives me an opportunity to share my perspective on the responsibility imposed by the duty and the law to support the structure of the fire service.

Not just for rhetoric, to be formal and within the functional framework, but to say something that you mentioned a little in your speech, where you referred to my presence, in the last operation to extinguish the fire in the residential complex. Fate decreed that within 10 minutes of the time the General Director of the Fire Department had arrived, I was also at the scene, ensuring maximally that everyone together took all the necessary measures, so that first lives were saved, the security perimeter was guaranteed, with all the interest and panic that was there, we had the opportunity, not to allow, from chaos to end in fatalities. This was the first imperative.

Of course, there are a number of other actions that need to be taken in such moments, but these are events that certainly do not always come only for the worse. They also give you the opportunity to reflect, to understand what we should get out of these and I remember here the earthquake in Durrës, where I was also determined from the first moments after the tragedy, where firefighting teams had a presence in the affected areas and the destroyed buildings.

And considering the mission, the extremely courageous, noble nature of the firefighter's mission, for me it is nothing but pride to have as part of the structure of responsibility and service the General Directorate of Fire Service, Fire Protection, precisely because I value it as much as the noble mission that every employee of the State Police has, as well as firefighters.

Despite the fact that the law clearly stipulates that the General Directorate has a coordinating role, it has a greater role in guaranteeing standards and unifying procedures, whether in recruitment, of course in terms of lobbying, or for increased financial support with investments, such as those that are budgetary, as well as in terms of all the negotiations that I am currently carrying out with international partners.

We have recently had a donation from Canada, we will also have others from France and other European Union countries, where the latest technologies, including firefighting vehicles, will be made available, as we have successfully finalized and recently another project funded by the European Union, where in collaboration with our Polish counterparts, we have made it possible not only to establish several new fire stations in the country, but also to provide the latest equipment for protecting the lives of firefighters.

However, for the sake of transparency with citizens, allow me to summarize the information on how, in the regulatory aspect, the differentiation is made between the responsibilities of the central government according to Law 152/2015, and on the other hand, the local government, giving municipalities direct responsibility for the administration and functioning of this service.

I mentioned earlier that through this law, the General Directorate of Fire Protection and Rescue Service was also created, and then in 2020, an important step was to address the need for standardization, coordination, and increased professionalism of the fire brigade.

Since, as I mentioned earlier, we also have a role for municipalities in terms of the capacity they must have in fire rescue and protection.

So, always, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has the obligation and aims to unify, standardize and increase capacities without leaving behind any municipality or any particular fire protection structure. This has been my approach during these weeks in office, to be as fair as possible in relation to the most urgent needs of the respective municipalities and firefighting structures, in terms of allocating support, both support within the country, as well as those that come from various projects or agreements that we make with member states of the European Union, but also further, as was the case with Canada recently. Then at the national level, we have 12 local directorates, in the district center municipalities and we have 49 in other municipalities.

In total, there are 70 fire stations throughout the country, and in the Municipality of Tirana alone, the largest municipality in the country, 8 fire stations are currently operating, and the good news is that capacities have been expanded in Durrës, Kamëz and other municipalities. In total, there are 1,350 employees of the Fire Protection Service.

Of course, one of my priorities as Minister of Internal Affairs is undoubtedly the improvement of financial treatment for all those employees who serve the country, serve the citizens at the very moment when seconds, not minutes, not hours, seconds are what make the difference, seriously endangering their lives and their health, as we have seen from the footage and from the most recent case.

Therefore, in terms of financial treatment, in the most recent VKM, the one of 2024, there was an increase in salaries and salary brackets for all levels of ranks of Fire Protection Service employees. Today, a firefighter benefits from significantly higher salaries and brackets than a few years ago.

Of course, this does not mean that it is enough. On the contrary, we are also submitting for approval the Council of Ministers' Decision, which is specifically related to overtime, the coverage of overtime, other allowances, and the best treatment for firefighters throughout the country.

However, what should be emphasized is that since 2024, fire department employees, in fact starting from the assistant role, from the assistant rank with a salary of 65.000 lek, to the senior manager of the Fire Department with 164.000 lek, which reflects precisely that growth, which cannot be compared to many years ago, but also to recent times, this in relation to the security forces in general, such as police officers and other employees, other security actors in the country.

Of course, I emphasize once again, without a doubt, for us the further increase in their financial treatment and status remains a priority, in addition to the support we have provided and concrete investments in terms of equipment, very important for the protection and guarantee of their lives during participation in operations, but also firefighting vehicles, but also other needs that have been recently identified, which would not only protect the firefighters themselves during operations but also facilitate their work in operations.

We emphasize that this is very important due to the fact that we are entering the tourist season, and with the summer season we always have the phenomenon of fires.

So, including here any technology that is used in other European Union countries, including drones for extinguishing fires, all of it is being analyzed by my team at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to present a block of needs so that we truly have an advanced fleet and technology for the Fire Service.

Now more specifically, what was done just last year, in fact we had an increase from the state budget for the value of investments, where specifically in 20250 we had investments, so the funding from the state budget reached 2.8 billion lek for the Fire Service, and this was a significant increase compared to the previous year where in 2024 it was 2.3 billion lek.

To continue further, we also have a higher number of fire trucks and firefighting vehicles made available.

Currently, local services have around 170 vehicles.

Of course, their distribution and functionality appear fragmented. That is, some municipalities have the latest fire engines, others need renovation. But of course we also have special structures, for areas of particular importance, such as the case of the “Mother Teresa” international airport and the port of Durrës, where specialized structures are also deployed.

On the other hand, we mentioned earlier the needs, that is, the request that I have presented to the structures specifically in this case, for fire protection, for the identification of means, technology, vehicles, and from the last report it was conveyed to me, one of the most priority needs is the renewal of the operational fleet and for this we have planned the purchase of about 100 firefighting vehicles. So these will be distributed, without a doubt, including specialized means, they will be distributed in the most equitable way, taking into account first, the most urgent needs, the status of the municipalities, in terms of the firefighting means they have.

So for 61 municipalities, we will have the most equitable distribution, in order to provide the most efficient service possible and respond to situations as quickly as possible.

To continue, I mentioned earlier the cooperation with national partners, such as the case for the project with the Poles, where we, within the framework of this project funded by the European Union, had the establishment of 2 fire stations, specifically in Fier and Pogradec. Through this project, uniforms and modern equipment were also provided for several other municipalities.

On the other hand, we also continue to cooperate with AKMC, the National Civil Emergency Agency, and the US Defense Cooperation Office, where it was agreed to build four new fire stations, specifically in Përrenjas, Mat, Patos and Mirdita. We recall here that support for the Fire Protection Service was also provided through the project by the TAP pipeline, which provided 16 firefighting vehicles and training, support for 168 firefighters, in 10 municipalities of the country, wherever this pipeline has been located.

Another important project in support of the Fire Protection Service has been ALPACT, worth around $100 million, in collaboration with the World Bank, which aims to increase emergency response capacities and climate change.

I mentioned a little earlier that we are approaching the summer season, where, unfortunately for us, we have encountered frequent cases of deliberate arsons, and this in our opinion is a real risk, an intensive job, more stress for the Fire Service.

At the same time, new fire stations have been built or are in the process of being built in Tirana, Kamëz, Lushnje and, as I mentioned earlier, in Burrel and in Fier, Pogradec. So, we are talking about real needs of the Fire Protection Service, including both those with technology, as well as those related to more dignified treatment, good for the very noble mission itself, which the Fire Protection Service represents, and in terms of salaries and salary supplements, as well as with technology. So I am very aware of the challenges of this service, but above all I am very determined to bring a contribution as calm as possible for every fire service employee in all 61 municipalities of the country. Thank you and I am ready for any other reaction.