The newly refurbished R56.6-million state-of-the-art Germiston Fire Station was officially opened by the executive mayor on Thursday.
The fire station will serve the Germiston CBD, Germiston precinct, Ekurhuleni Mining Belt, Dukathole and Good Hope informal settlements, Rand Airport and industrial areas surrounding Germiston.
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The work to rebuild the station started in 2015. The newly refurbished fire station boasts enough parking space to accommodate a hydraulic platform (HP) fire engine, water tanker fire engine, major water pumper fire engine, smaller grass unit fire engine used for confined spaces and at least three ambulances.
Our new fire truck goes up to 12 Floors fast and effectively, I can confirm this myself.🚒 #SiyaqhubaCoE #GermistonFireStation #ServiceDelivery pic.twitter.com/DerU4nMTS0
— Mzwandile Masina (@mzwandileMasina) October 4, 2018
The new building has a modern gym for the fire fighters to keep fit, separate change and locker rooms where they keep the fire gear, a boardroom and technologically protected offices. The station has been strategically designed for easy access for fire engines during and after responding to calls.
The station is based at the new Germiston precinct, surrounded by new blocks of residential flats. It is not far from the local industrial area.
On the day executive mayor Mzwandile Masina also launched the fleet that included 37 ambulances, two major pumpers with 4000-litre tank capacity, two water tankers with 10 000-litre tank capacity each, one major rescue pumper only used to carry rescue equipment, one rescue pumper with 4 000-litre tank capacity, a new hydraulic platform (“Bronto Sky Lighter”), which can reach a height of 37m.
“The @City_Ekurhuleni had also spent R33m in purchasing new durable Emergency Vehicles, consisting of: 37x Ambulances and 6x Emergency Response Cars” #SiyaqhubaCoE #WorkingForThePeople pic.twitter.com/UHZbRrqlXQ
— Mzwandile Masina (@mzwandileMasina) October 4, 2018
It is similar to the one used during the fire in the City Centre of Johannesburg a month ago.
Emergency services demonstrated the water transfer system at Germiston Lake, which is the only one of its kind in Africa. The system can transfer water from an open source to a distance of about five kilometres. Masina and his mayoral committee, including senior officials of the City, witnessed the demonstration.
The system can supply about eight fire engines with enough pressure for the entire operation on the scene. The Water Ambassador can discharge 24000 litres per minute at the pressure of above 10 bars (1000 KPA) through the supply of eight 100mm diameter hoses at once.
