Concerns over reduced number of fire engines in Joburg

There is a fire engine crisis in the City of Joburg – with only seven operational fire engines to service the city at the moment, concerns are high.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi agrees that at this stage, seven engines are not enough.

“Ideally with the 31 stations all over Johannesburg, we should have at least one working fire engine in each station to extinguish fires. Alas, we have to utilise what we have now.”

He said that there plans in motion to try and solve this issue.

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“We have already started the process of procuring other vehicles with the City. Moving forward, we want to ensure and spend more time focusing on the upkeep of the fire trucks.”

Mulaudzi said that fire engines range between seven, nine and eleven while the other four are in for repairs.

“We will also be focusing on having the vehicles back in sufficient time to ensure that they are back on the road to fight fires.”

The turnaround time to a fire call is between 15–30 minutes, Mulaudzi however mentioned that it will take longer at this stage due to the shortage. He said that preventative measures should always be followed to avoid fires.

Here are three tips to stay safe:

• Look after and monitor heating devices
• Ensure children do not play with matches or lighters and teach them about the dangers of fire
• Practice safe housekeeping.

He also mentioned that residents can visit life and fire safety education centres around the city.

This article was republished from Rosebank Killarney Gazette with permission 

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