JENNY MACDONALD of Norkem Park writes:
On Sunday, June 15, the grass around the dam on the P91 between Birch Acres and Norkem Park caught alight.
I live in one of the townhouse complexes and was quite perturbed as the flames were higher than the roofs of the houses. I tried phoning the emergency call centre on 0860549000 but as usual got no reply.
The last time I called them I had to wait over an hour for a response. I then called a friend who gave me a new number to try (011-458-0911). No answer.
I then tried the fire station on 10177 and again no answer. In between trying the alternate numbers, I did try the call centre several times.
At 8pm I received a call from the call centre to say they had received a missed call from me and what was it about. This was about two hours after my first attempt.
I find this quality of service quite unacceptable as surely, as an emergency call centre, they should be responding to calls rapidly and also have the necessary training to be able to handle any emergency coming in?
What if one of the houses had caught alight? What if we had injuries? Someone needs to be accountable and give answers as to why this service is such a total waste of time. I am sure I am not the only one who would like an answer.
I thank the good Lord that we had no mishaps.
The metro failed to reply – Editor
