AfriForum district coordinator, Llewellynn Hemmens, said it was not a good thing for Tshwane to be in mud-throwing.
The City of Tshwane emergency services department has confirmed the tyre fire that broke out last weekend has finally been extinguished.
City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said, contrary to claims made by the Sinoville Firefighting Association, firefighting at the site was conducted and completed solely by Tshwane emergency services.
“The fire was fully extinguished by the city’s teams without external firefighting intervention,” he said.
AfriForum’s role disputed
Mashigo said it was only after the fire had been completely doused that AfriForum provided limited logistical assistance, specifically through the use of a tractor loader backhoe (TLB) during the mop-up phase of operations.
“This was not part of the active firefighting effort but a post-extinguishing support measure,” he said.
Mashigo said any suggestion that Tshwane emergency services lacked capacity, equipment or resources to deal with the incident was incorrect.
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AfriForum raises concerns
AfriForum district coordinator for greater Pretoria North region, Llewellynn Hemmens, said it was not a good thing for Tshwane to be in mud-throwing about whether they managed the fires.
“The fire hydrants did not have enough pressure, and they did not have enough personnel to put out the fire.
“They turned away extra role players who wanted to help with the right equipment,” he said.
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Dispute over timelines
Hemmens said residents drove bakkies loaded with water to refill the trucks to put out the fire.
“Tshwane did not have enough resources and also not enough manpower to put out the fire. On a traditional flair Monday afternoon, the water department sent them a TLB. But the coordination between them and the firefighters was poor, so the TLB got stuck. AfriForum sent a TLB on a Tuesday,” Hemmens said.
Hemmens said by Wednesday afternoon, the fire was only 52% extinguished.
“So, it’s really sad to hear that they say they got the fire under control. And that they turned away the volunteers because they didn’t need them,” he said.
“The external role players needed to jump in because they had the necessary equipment.”
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