As the rest of the world observes International fire fighters day, Acting MEC for Local Government and Human Settlements in Bokone Bophirima, Fenny Gaolaolwe has appealed to members of the communities, especially those staying in shacks to be cautious at all times and not to leave lit candles, paraffin/gas stoves unattended during the winter season.
“It is that time of the year when most of us will be using heaters etc to keep warmer during cold winter days and it is again at this time of the year that we get a lot of cases of shack and veld fires get reported to us through our fire stations in municipalities. Most of the time, municipalities are able to respond to such cases but we want to appeal to our people that such incidents can be prevented.
In instances where municipalities are unable to respond because our insufficient capacity, help is often sourced from the next nearest fire station’’, she said.
Meanwhile, in order to deal with the shortage of fire fighters in most municipalities, the department is in the process of training fire fighters reserves through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) - the programme will be rolled out in the 2017/2018 financial year.
Furthermore, the department has allocated over R11 million for procurement of fire fighting vehicles for Greater Taung, Naledi, Mahikeng, Tswaing local municipalities. An additional R748 000 will be shared equally amongst the four district to train fire safety officers with a special focus on municipalities that do not have professional safety officers and the necessary fire prevention and investigation resources such as cameras, recording devices, fire detectors etc.
MEC Gaolaolwe also mentioned the department has established a provincial fire safety and prevention committee with the sole purpose of ensuring enforcement of municipal by-laws in line with the applicable legislations. “Our greatest challenge at the moment is the fact that municipalities do not budget for fire services such as maintenance of fire fighting vehicles, do not have human replacement policies and succession plans.
However, we are always ready to assist municipalities with such issues’’, she said.
Enquiries:
Ben Bole
Cell: 071 566 1399
E-mail: msbole@nwpg.gov.za
