Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski affirmed firemen should receive some kind of compensation or pension for their work which, while voluntary, must be acknowledged by society due to the major service they provide.
The Head of State stressed the need to guarantee the safety of General Body of Peruvian Volunteer Fire Department members in light of the shoe-factory blaze that killed three of these lifesavers on Tuesday.
"We need to come up with some sort of compensation or pension for firefighters. I'm aware that they are volunteers, but society should give something back to them for their service. This does not happen nowadays," he said.
Although the exact cause of the accident remains unknown, the high-ranking official assured an investigation is in place. It must be noted the said fire also affected one of the Health Ministry's medicine warehouses.
"We need to contribute to firefighters' security, […] they are underequipped, short of protection equipment and, on top of that, their mechanical equipments need gradual replacement," the 78-year-old pointed out.
In this respect, the Executive currently analyzes the possibility of granting life annuity —rather than social security's current S/45,000 (about US$13,636) grant— to the families of firefighters who die while on duty.
As for Congress' proposals to pay firefighters a salary, Peru's leader said the matter needs to be discussed given the fire department's volunteer nature.
Joined by First Lady Nancy Lange, Mr. Kuczynski attended the funeral of three firefighters killed in the blaze to pay his last respects.
Insecurity
On different matters, Peru's Commander-in-Chief explained "much remains to be done" for Lima's streets and highways. Thus, he noted the government and Lima's Mayor Luis Castañeda currently prepare a plan to implement 1,500 intelligent street lights.
"And I will support him in this plan, since we are also working together on roads towards the [Lima 2019] Pan American Games," he said.
Likewise, the President noted it is necessary to invest "physically and morally" on road safety when providing further funding to the Peruvian National Police (PNP).
Remarks were made as part of Mr. Kuczynski's opening speech at the first International Road Safety Forum on Thursday at Lima's Convention Center.