Emfuleni Councillor Edward von Bodenstein writes:

A house in Jacobs Street in SE6, Vanderbijlpark was badly damaged in a fire today when the fire brigade could not be reached due to its telephone lines being cut off.

Telkom suspended its services to the Emfuleni Local Municipality in January due to non-payment, with the result that the fire station also does not have a functioning landline.

A neighbor called a firefighter on his cellphone in an attempt to get help.

Neighbors themselves tried to get the flames under control with a garden hose, but the attempt was not very successful because the water supply to the municipality was reduced by 40%.

The fact that ELM have only one fire engine  in Vanderbijlpark and one fire engine in Vereeniging is a course of great concern. Even if the public would have reached the fire station immediately, I doubt it would have made much of a difference. Fortunately no one was injured in the fire which consumed the house. The fact that winter is on its way, with the added risk of veldfires that can spread to residential areas, makes this situation even more serious.

The emergency numbers at the main control room at Vereeniging are able to receive emergency calls.

The correct numbers for the public to contact in an emergency are;

016 430 1818

016 430 1816 and

016 4301806