Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) firefighters once again found themselves having to flee from an angry mob in Katlehong on Tuesday.
Firefighters from Zonkizizwe Fire station responded to a call about a structural fire in Sunrise Section in a newly replaced fire engine after the previous one was torched in the same vicinity previously, said William Ntladi, spokesperson for the DEMS.
“The crews, who were escorted by the police on their way to the incident, did not arrive at their destination as they were blasted with rocks by angry residents of Moleleki Section. Subsequently, both vehicles had to turn around for safety.
“Fortunately, no windows on the fire engine were struck during the attack which left all five crew members in shock.”
According to information from the scene, communities from both Moleleki Section and Sunrise had a dispute about service delivery. Concrete lamp poles were smashed, wooden electrical power pylons burnt down and power cables cut off. Centralised water taps were broken down and thousands of litres of water were wasted.
Ntladi again pleaded with communities to stop attacking emergency personnel. “The department has risen the flag of peace for everyone to see. Destroying the goods today will bring detrimental effects tomorrow.
“Bringing service delivery dissatisfactions to the attention of the relevant management is a better mechanism than taking the law into your own hands,” Ntladi said.
