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Alipay – American Samoa
The Director of the Office of Search and Rescue (Dept. of Search and Rescue), Mr. Save Liuato Tuitele, said that the DSR has been established for more than two years but has yet to receive funding for its office from the Federal Government as it is still being handled by the department that previously performed the duties of the DSR.
Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean raised the issue during a joint review of the two chambers this past Monday, in which Tuaolo mentioned the inclusion of DSR-sponsored EMS in Lyndon Johnson’s proposed budget.
Tuaolo asked Save if EMS was still under his supervision because LBJ’s proposed budget included a job opportunity with a salary of $50,000 and a $240,000 budget for supplies and materials.
The DG approved EMS as part of his office, however, Lyndon Johnson was responsible for federal funding for EMS and the DSR had to ask LBJ for 4 permission to use those funds since they were not directly available to them.
Save clarified that DSR cannot bill Medicaid and Medicare for the use of ambulances because they are not enrolled under Medicaid services.
Save also stated that he had negotiated with the Medicaid director and Director LBJ and was told that their offices should register as a Medicaid service group and then some of their funding could come directly from Medicaid.
Save also said Medicaid Director Sandra King-Young has informed her that she is looking into including DSR as part of Medicaid services in the State Plan.
The Director-General revealed that the ambulance service is extremely busy because when local families are unable to take their loved ones to hospital, ambulances are called to provide any service, from changing bandages to prescribing medicines, and ambulances are waiting to take people back to their homes.
The Honorable Congressman Larry Sanitoya also announced that the DSR is two years old and there is a need to work harder to address the issues so that federal funds can be directed to the services where he should go.
Sanitoa also revealed the misleading value of the proposed budget of the DSR as it does not include the funds required to carry out their statutory services as they are still part of the government with oversight of some government agencies such as the EMS.
The office’s budget for fiscal year 2025 is projected to be $4.3 million. Personnel costs are $3.9 million (90%), equipment costs are $45,000, and supplies and materials costs are $61,000.
Sanitoa also disclosed that there is not enough money for “supplies” and training of the firefighting unit, which is being done with the support of the DSR. Sanitoa said that information has been received that the DSR is receiving two federal funds: $280,000 from the Department of the Interior (DOI) and $100,000 from the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the lawmakers have questioned the use of these funds.
Save confirmed that their office received the funds about two weeks ago and intends to use part of the money from the Ministry of the Interior to fund a fire brigade school, as training for the service has been out for more than 10 years.
But the rest of the money would go toward buying more equipment for the fire department, such as another fire truck with a larger water tank, like the one used at the airport pictured here, which can hold 1,000 cubic feet of water.
Save also announced that other small fire trucks can be used to handle incidents (fires) in crowded areas such as Fagatogo, Atu’u and Mezepa where large fire trucks are not suitable.
Savvy also made it clear that the Ministry of the Interior’s funds could only pay the salary of one worker.
Sanitoya thanked the DSR director-general for giving priority to the establishment of the Fire Brigade School, as the last training for the fire brigade was held in 2012. But Sanitoya also reminded the director-general that a lawsuit was filed against the government due to problems with the Fire Brigade School. Ten years ago, Laufou was destroyed by fire, and the government paid a huge amount of money, $5.7 million, for negligence. The councillor said he hoped that this would not happen again.
Lawmakers argue that “first responders” charged with saving people’s lives, such as emergency medical services, fire departments and marine patrol, need the funds to do their jobs.
The Honorable Senator Magalei Logovii asked Save if there are plans to reopen the fire station offices in Fagaitua, León and Tafuna.
However, Saff said that due to the lack of workers and conditions to carry out this work, they came up with an idea to start with the fire department in Tafuna, then Fagaitua and finally Leone. After the planned training, their employees can adapt to work in all three areas.
The DSR director expressed the governor’s support for the plan, but the specific implementation timeline for the plan has not yet been determined.
Magale said he wanted to know when the plan would be implemented because more fire trucks and such services were clearly urgently needed. He also said that if a house in Fagetua caught fire, it would be better for the family to put it out rather than calling the fire department because by the time the fire trucks arrived, the house would have been completely burned down.
Magalei also talked about a recent fire in Nu’uuli, where it was understood that there were no water pipes (fire hydrants) in those places, but other places had water pipes (fire hydrants) but no water. He also said that abroad, this is the normal work of the fire brigade to check whether the fire hydrants are in good condition and confirm whether they can be used in an emergency.
Magalei also inquired about the portion of the $10,000 in the DSR’s proposed budget that would be used to purchase weapons and ammunition, and asked who and for what purpose the weapons would be used and whether the weapons had been licensed.
Savvy made it clear that the weapons used by the Marine patrol are required by law to perform their duties. However, no one has obtained the qualification to use the weapons, but they are working with the police commissioner to undergo weapons training under the supervision of the FBI or the Drug Enforcement Administration in order to pass the inspection of the police and Marine patrol officers.
Malaepule said the Marine Corps and Fire Department, which were previously under the Police Department, are now under the DSR. The DSR is eligible for many federal grants to fund their services.
But Luaitaua MP Gene Pan again raised concerns about the lack of funding in the DSR’s proposed budget for the people responsible for putting together the department’s grant requests (grant writers).
Saff confirmed the MP’s statement but disclosed that one of their staff was running the service with the help of some senior staff.
When the Honourable Senator Tuiasina Laumoli had the opportunity, she explained a recent incident in Leala where a man drowned while trying to save his daughter, but when he arrived, the police and emergency medical services team had no one able to enter the sea because of the storm. But when the marine patrol arrived, it was too late to save the man.
The Honorable Senator Satele Aliitai Lili’o also spoke about the three recent fires, two in Nu’uuli and one each in Alao and Satele, and wondered if investigations were being conducted into the causes of these fires and who had the authority to close them.
Satele said that when the fire brigade arrived at the fire in Alalau, the house was completely burned. The same was true for the fire in Nu’uli, where the church of the Church of Jesus Christ of Nu’uli was burned down. As for the fire that burned down the shops in Nu’uli, the burned area was not cleared until the following days.
The DSR director general explained that the employee who called from Alao advised the fire brigade to wait for confirmation because the caller appeared to be liquid
When firefighters arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames.
As for the burned-down Church of Jesus Christ in Nuuli, Savi said the calls for help arrived too late and the fire brigade, which arrived, was powerless to save the church.
As for the fire at the petrol station on the other side of Nuuri Road, the fire did not spread too far, which he could confirm because he was there on the morning of the accident.
Savy said one of the main reasons why the fire was difficult to put out was that there were no water pipes (fire hydrants) in the area where the houses were burned, which was also difficult to reach. Their crews came from some nearby “fire hydrants”. Another reason for the spread of the fire was that the wind was a bit strong that morning.
After extinguishing the fire, he advised them to investigate the cause of the fire, work quickly and clean up the scene instead of protecting the immigrants who live near where the accident occurred.
Saf also said the accident took place near a petrol station on the other side of the road, so he ordered the burnt area to be cleaned up immediately after an investigation was first conducted.
Honorable Congressman Shaun Va’a announced that he called 911 in the morning to report the fire in Alao, the Honorable Congressman said that 20 calls to 911 were received starting at 12:20 a.m. that day, but 911 did not respond before 1:45 a.m. The fire brigade arrived at 3:30 a.m., but the house was fully engulfed in flames.
The Speaker said even children know to call 911 in an emergency, but the person who answered 911 said to call the fire department.
Save said 911 is part of the police department, so when someone calls 911, they call EMS, the fire department or the Marines.
But the DSR director also revealed that a new 911 office has been set up under the governor’s order and they will monitor calls received by the fire department, emergency centers, marine patrol and police department.
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