DA questions number of firefighters in Kempton Park
Clr Jaco Terblanche is questioning the functionality and competence of the understaffed Kempton Park Fire Station.
The functionality and competence of the Kempton Park Fire Station have been in the spotlight for several months.
The fire station is said to have been understaffed for a while, and community leaders have expressed their concerns.
The DA spokesperson for Community Safety, Clr Jaco Terblanche, said the understaffed Kempton Park Fire Station places the lives of the community in danger.
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“According to the South African National Standards (10090 risk category), the minimum number of personnel required at the Kempton Park Fire Station should be 56, but there are only 38 firefighters, resulting in a shortfall of 18 firefighters or a 32% shortfall,” said Terblanche.
Terblanche added that with an operational shortfall of just above a third, Kempton Park firefighters are stretched to capacity and under continuous strain.
“Across the metro, the CoE is supposed to have, as a minimum, 1 160 firefighters. However, there are only 728 firefighters, resulting in a shortfall of 432 or 37.24%,” he added.
Terblanche’s concerns stem from the recent tragedies, which include the fire in Johannesburg that claimed the lives of over 70 people.
“The sharpness, urgency and reliability of emergency services in such situations is vital,” he said.
“The CoE cannot expect firefighters to provide a consistent and reliable service when they are so understaffed.
“This under-staffing directly impacts the quality of service that can be provided, where every second is crucial to saving lives.”
Terblanche said firefighters can’t continue operating under these conditions, and, as such, he will table a motion in council which will insist that all 432 positions be declared critical and that the CoE does its job and ensures all our fire stations have the minimum number of firefighters.
The Kempton Express requested comment from the DEMS spokesperson, William Ntladi.
“CoE DEMS fire stations do not operate individually like in the erstwhile towns.
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“Out of the 30 stations in the city, the operational plan has divided all of them into districts and regions according to the risk assessment conducted.
“At the time, Kempton Park had only one fire station. Today, however, Kempton Park also includes the Albertina Sisulu Fire Station, which brings the number of stations in the area to two within close proximity.
“This means that response time has been drastically reduced in the area,” he said.
Additionally, Ntladi said emergency services previously had dual responsibilities dealing with fire and medical emergencies, and each station had firefighters and EMS personnel on-site.
“Three years ago, the ambulance service was transferred back to the provincial Department of Health.
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“No personnel were transferred, instead, paramedics were retained as firefighters,” he said.
According to Ntladi, fire engines internationally are built to NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association) standards, meaning each major pumper or rescue pumper fire engine should carry at least five personnel when responding to an incident.
“This is in exclusivity of specialised vehicles such as hydraulic platforms (HP), foam tenders, grass fire engines and all other specialised vehicles used in the service.
“The CoE’s residents are in capable hands of the ever-ready emergency services to render all necessary responsibilities as per expectations,” he said.
