Community leaders respond to Aldarapark fire
Chairperson of the Aldarapark Residents Association Corne Simpson was also on the scene when the fire first started.
Various community leaders shared their experience of lending support on the scene of a devastating that fire tore through a house on Doring Close, Aldarapark on 30 September.
The Linden Community Police Forum’s Stefan Kloppers was one of the first people on the scene of the blaze.
“When I got to the scene, there were no emergency responders at that stage. Security companies and Community Support Services were on the scene and tried their best to make sure everyone was safe. It was horrible to see such devastation, and the family affected have lost their clothes, toiletries and many valuable possessions,” said Kloppers.
Kloppers said that the speedy response of Fire Ops SA helped avoid further damage to the property and the spread of the fire to neighbouring properties.
Chairperson of the Aldarapark Residents Association Corne Simpson was also on the scene when the fire first started.
“When I first heard about the fire, I panicked. It was not even my house and I felt that way, so I can only imagine how the residents of the house must be feeling. All people and animals inside the house were able to escape, and if not, the situation could have been a lot worse,” she said.
Simpson said that when she contacted the Linden CPF for help, she was told to use the free Namola app on her phone to instantly report the emergency.
Over the past year, the Linden CPF has encouraged their community members to download and use the app that is effective in reporting all emergencies and has received the support of many community organisations across the country.
“I pushed the fire button, and almost immediately an operator called me to inquire about the issue. I reported it and 10 minutes later Fire Ops SA arrived. I can highly recommend that all of our residents download this app, today was proof of how effective it can be,” said Simpson.
Namola is an emergency and crime response app that allows users to share their GPS coordinates, name and nature of the emergency with a 24/7 response call centre.
“The app is great at getting all emergency services to the scene, and its ease of use makes it easier to report incidents like this. I encourage all of our community members to download it and use it,” concluded Kloppers.
