More questions follow firefighters’ deaths
“We did not stand a chance against the Bank of Lisbon building because of the non-compliance of the building. We didn't expect to go into a building with no water. The fire behaved strangely.”
The deaths of three firefighters, Simphiwe Moropana (28), Mduduzi Ndlovu (40) and Khathutshelo Muedi (37), at the Bank of Lisbon building two weeks ago has raised allegations of them being unfit and not well trained to extinguish high rise building fires.
Fellow firefighters addressed the allegations at the memorial service which was held at Ellis Park Arena.
Muzikayise Zwane, who was part of the team that fought the fire said, “We did not stand a chance against the Bank of Lisbon building because of the non-compliance of the building. We didn’t expect to go into a building with no water. The fire behaved strangely.”
Also read: WATCH: Emotional tribute to fallen firefighters
“Central and Fairview Fire Stations have been extinguishing high rise building fires for years. But this one took our three brothers,” he told mourners at the memorial.
He further addressed the rumours of firefighters being unfit.
“If they were unfit they would have never made it to the 23rd floor. People should join us on our rescue missions to understand what we do before they speak of things they don’t know,” said Zwane.
The EXPRESS sent an inquiry to the MMC of Public Safety Michael Sun regarding the allegations.
Also read: Firefighters Joburg launched
“I will not address allegations about the level of fitness and training but we are in the process of conducting audits throughout all fire stations in the City of Joburg. Any shortfall identified will be rectified without delay.
“Our firefighters will have to undergo refresher courses and in-service training to ensure a state of readiness,” said Sun.
He further said they will also look into management as this issue was raised by the union.
“We are also looking to conduct a skills audit on the management level and forging better command-and-control,” said Sun.
“Joburg EMS dispatched its own Bronto (the ladder). However, none of the metros in SA has a ladder that can reach the 23rd floor. Most of the fire engines and equipment were dispatched by Joburg EMS.
Also read: Firefighters remember the fallen brother
“The other metros supported us in terms of a standing in and reciprocal Memorandum of Understanding exists amongst the metros,” said Sun.
He said the department is also in the process of procuring fire engines.
“Our fire engine replacement programme will forge ahead as planned. I have been informed by the city manager that all is on track.”
“We will look to recruit more firefighters in the coming years,” said the MMC.
Following the blaze, the Gauteng Provincial Government announced that it had established a high-level provincial Occupational Health and Safety Steering Committee to centralise the safety function for all buildings accommodating government employees.
The committee is in line with the Occupational Health and Safety Act which places safety as a key responsibility of all the accounting officers as employers.
Also read: Two firefighters killed in blaze
The committee is chaired by Department of Infrastructure Development MEC Jacob Mamabolo and will be constituted of heads of department.
The centralisation of the function is intended to ensure coordination and oversight for full enforcement of safety regulations in all the departments.
The function of this committee came into effect on September 7.
“The priority assignment will be to oversee the evacuation of officials from none-compliant buildings and to relocate them to suitable buildings.
“This will address the current practice where there is no central coordination to oversee compliance.
“It will change the current practice where occupation safety is not centrally supported but left to accounting officers, considering that it is apparent that the practice is not working efficiently and effectively,” said Gauteng Provincial Government’s head of communication, Thabo Masebe.
Msebe said safety engineers have assessed the structural integrity of Bank of Lisbon building.
“There is no immediate threat of the building collapsing, except for some defects due to the fire. Further assessments are being conducted in this regard.”
“The forensic investigators have also commenced with the investigation into the cause of the fire.”
“It is important to note that the structural integrity of the buildings is not the sole contributing factor to the non-compliance with the OHS standards,” said Masebe.
Since the fire, the Gauteng Provincial Government also evacuated the nine buildings that do not meet the minimum OHS standards so that urgent work can be undertaken to ensure that buildings comply.
“Heads of departments have instructed officials to report to temporary service sites including regional, district and satellite branches. Affected departments include Human Settlements and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Health, Social Development and the office of the premier,” said Masebe.
