Meeting to reform firefighting service snuffed out

Gathering comes to abrupt halt after Finance Ministry refuses to sign off on budget

By Stuart Winer

You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

11 July 2012, 2:12 pm

Edit

Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.

Ultra Orthodox Shas party member Amnon Cohen seen in the Israeli parliament in June, 2012. Amnon ended a meeting to approve the reading of a bill to reform the firefighting services after the Interior Ministry refused to committ a budget. (photo credit: Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

A Knesset meeting convened to approve firefighting reforms broke up Wednesday after Finance Ministry representatives refused to sign off on the required budget.

The need to revamp the country’s firefighting services has come to the fore since a massive blaze in the Carmel forest in 2010 left 44 people dead. The government vowed to improve its capability after finding itself outmatched by the fire without international help.

The reform bill calls for unifying the fire and emergency rescue services under one government authority to be administered by the Public Security Ministry.

However, Finance Ministry representatives balked at signing for the NIS 1 billion budget per year for five years required for the reform, and committee chairman MK Amnon Cohen (Shas) called the meeting to an end.