Metro burns shack to demonstrate fire safety
The fire safety awareness campaign will run until the end of August
INSTEAD of demolishing the fire, emergency services set a shack on fire during the launch of the Ekurhuleni pre-winter fire safety campaign at Gugulethu/Everest informal settlement in Springs.
The annual fire safety awareness campaign, themed “Call us in time, we arrive on time”, is held to re-educate residents about fire safety ahead of the approaching winter season when paraffin stoves, liquefied petroleum gas heaters and braziers (imbawula) will be used to keep warm.
Tumelo Lephosa, a resident from Angelo Informal Settlement and member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), said the demonstration involving a burning shack made the message more tangible for residents who attended the launch.
“After seeing us in action, the community understands the role we play and how they can assist us in extinguishing such fires using the bucket brigade system instead of standing in a crowd, watching someone’s home burn to ashes,” he said.
The 649 CERT members who were present at the launch have been deployed to be the first in line to respond to fire incidents in all 119 informal settlements within the City of Ekurhuleni, while emergency response officials make their way to a scene.
“The number of shack fire fatalities and injuries in Ekurhuleni has dropped since 2008. That is a clear indication that the pre-winter fire safety campaigns and the efforts of the CERT go a long way in saving lives,” said member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for community safety, Clr Vivian Chauke.
The MMC urged CERT members who had been trained in first aid, basic fire fighting, bucket fire brigading, disaster reduction and public education, to impart their knowledge to other community members so that everyone would be able to play a part in the event of a fire.
The fire safety awareness campaign will run until the end of August where Ekurhuleni Emergency and Disaster Management Services will visit informal settlements across the city and educate communities on precautions to take to avoid fire incidents and what to do in the event that a fire breaks out.
