The fire and rescue personnel in Ventersdorp protested outside the municipality over many critical issues on Wednesday.
They have vowed to protest until their pleas are heard and the challenges addressed. If a fire breaks out or an accident occurs, they will not attend to it.
According to one of the personnel who didn’t want to be identified for fear of victimisation, the fire department is non-existent and non-compliant and this could plunge the whole town into a crisis.
The firefighter says fifteen firefighting reservists have been working as firefighters in Ventersdorp for nine years without any prospect of being allocated permanent positions. There are only six permanent firefighters in Ventersdorp
‘The Dr KK Kaunda district sent them for training in 2010 and then dumped them in Ventersdorp. They were qualified firefighters who were getting a stipend of R1200 at the time. After that, they were employed in the EPWP in Ventersdorp and received a salary accordingly. They currently earn R4 500 as a stipend,’ said the firefighter.
Unfavourable working conditions
The personnel also complain about unfavourable working conditions. ‘The fire department does not operate for 24 hours a day and there are not enough firefighters. Therefore, it is not compliant.
The fire and rescue vehicles are not serviced – some do not even have sirens or headlights. When attending to incidents, they have to use hazard lights as a warning mechanism. Their tyres are worn and, when a vehicle is taken to Potchefstroom to be fitted with new tyres, it usually takes two months before it comes back to Ventersdorp.
‘We risk our lives but we are under-equipped with safety gear, protective clothing and garments. The municipality expects the reservists to extinguish veld fires without any masks or goggles. I wonder how their lungs cope; there is no self-breathing oxygen apparatus.
‘We do not work 24 hours a day…we respond to the emergencies from home. After hours, we go home with the vehicles, which should not be allowed. Whenever there is an incident, we have to pick everyone up from their homes and that takes time. A shack takes only ten minutes to burn down.
‘When someone is trapped in a car, we have to rescue them. If a truck causes an oil spillage, they send us, even though we do not have the tools to deal with it.’
‘We have a passion for serving the community. That is why we always go the extra mile despite not having adequate safety gear, equipment and serviced vehicles.’
New licensing department adding to the problem
‘The newly-opened licensing department operates under the same roof as the fire and rescue services. The two departments share one landline. When a distress call comes in, a licencing official sometimes takes the call and does not know how to deal with it. Why didn’t they provide mobile offices for the licensing department? This is just a waste of the community’s time and adds to the frustration. Time is of utmost importance when dealing with fire and rescue.
‘The firefighters say the assistant chief of fire operations is not qualified for the position and he has not addressed any of their challenges.’
Municipality cannot comment until engagement with the protesters is completed
The council spokesperson, Willie Maphosa says the municipality is aware of the current protest action in Ventersdorp. ‘Our MMC (member of the mayoral committee) for public safety, Leon Mkhabela and the fire station manager, Ditaba Semase are currently at the scene to engage with the protesters,’ he said.
‘Unfortunately, we cannot comment further until the engagement has been completed and we understand what the issue is all about,’ he said.
