Wilgerood death: disaster management a disaster?
Wilgerood Road was closed until 21 August as City Parks workers cut down the trees that seemed to pose a threat.
Ilana Fourie was laid to rest at the Sterkfontein Cemetery on 22 August after she died in a freak accident on 16 August.
On the Friday afternoon just after 2pm the 45-year-old Fourie travelled in her white Daihatsu Sirion along Wilgerood Road towards Krugersdorp. Eyewitnesses say that a Blue gum tree, which had burnt during a veld fire, fell on Fourie’s vehicle as she was driving. No other vehicles were involved.
Despite ER24 paramedics’ resuscitation attempts of almost half an hour, Fourie sadly was declared dead after sustaining severe head and upper body injuries.
Also to arrive at the scene was Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch (RNW), JMPD, City Parks, SAPS and Roodepoort Ward 83 Councillor Suzanne Clarke.
Wilgerood Road was closed until 21 August as City Parks workers cut down the trees that seemed to pose a threat.
Riaan van Zyl, reporter for the Roodepoort Record, compiled a timeline of the report done by the RNW patrollers of how the events of that unfortunate afternoon played out.
At 10.15am the first RNW patroller arrived at the scene of a veld fire. The fire was burning from Azalea Street in the direction of Foxglove Avenue. According to the patrollers’ report the “wind was blowing hard and the fire was spreading quickly”. They had to switch on their hazards due to the smoke decreased visibly for motorists. They feared an accident.
The patrollers repeatedly phoned their control room to have Emergency Management Services (EMS) dispatched, but to no avail. At this stage the fire was raging high and right up to residential boundary walls.
By noon an EMS vehicle arrived and partially extinguished part of the fire but left the rest, including trees and stumps, burning. At that stage visibility was better but JMPD was yet to arrive to assist.
At 2.15pm patrollers received news of a serious accident on Wilgerood Road. A second accident happened in the meantime and patrollers had to divide themselves between the two scenes. JMPD arrived only at 4pm.
Van Zyl raised numerous question to EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi about the city’s micro and the macro disaster management plans, whereby he answered, “It is unfair of the community to come down so hard on us. We did everything we could”.
NEWS journalist Jacobus Myburgh attended Fourie’s funeral and will conduct an interview with the family within the next few days to discuss their great loss.
