Emergency services respond 40 minutes after report of Morehill fire – resident
Emergency services took about 40 minutes to respond to a fire at a house on the corner of Aquarius and Gemini avenues in Morehill this morning (December 11).
This is according to neighbour Ryan Massyn.
He said he phoned the Rynfield Fire Station at about 5.05am after he searched for an emergency number on Google.
“The number available on Google as the Rynfield Fire Department is 10177,” he said.
He explained he “heard a tyre burst just before 5am and thought it must have been the cold weather”.
“When I heard a second tyre pop I went to look and then I saw the fire,” said Massyn.
“I jumped the wall to try and wake the people up.”
He said another neighbour told him the family is on holiday.
When he phoned the fire station again at 5.25am to hear where they were, the person on the line allegedly told him “it is just a small fire and he mustn’t worry”.
“From what I could see from my side, three cars were burning,” said Massyn.
The fire department arrived at about 5.40am and, according to him, this was only after security company CMS drove to the station in Pretoria Road.
“I don’t understand how a fire truck on Pretoria Road can take 40 minutes to get to Morehill,” he said.
The daughter of the home owner, Thando Mnyandu, confirmed the details as told by Massyn.
According to Ekurhuleni Emergency Services media liaison officer William Ntladi, the number on Google is a national emergency services directory. “These operators will ask you where you live and they will link you to the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services,” he said.
“The fire station in Rynfield does not have a call centre, it does not even have a landline,” said Ntladi.
He also said when CMS drove to the station to inform respondents about the fire, they assisted immediately.
“We are trying to get citizens to contact our call centre in Bedfordview, that number is 011 458 0911,” said Ntladi.
“That number is also on every municipal water and lights statement and also on all of my press statements.”
He explained the cause of the fire is not yet known, but speculation is that a cold room’s motor on the premises exploded.
The owner of the house sells ice.
He did confirm that three cars were destroyed in the blaze and said the house has little structural damage.
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