City acquires new fire engines
The City of Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services (EMS) has taken delivery of 3 new fire engines. The City will take ownership of an additional two fire engines before the end of this financial year.
Residents of Johannesburg have over the years raised concerns about the City’s ability to secure their safety in the event of an increased number of fire outbreaks. “It is my pleasure to assure residents the procurement and possession of the first batch of fire engines will ensure that the City is able to alleviate much of the pressure that has been placed on our Emergency Management Services” said City of Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Cllr Mashaba. The mayor noted that the purchase of the fire engines will especially ensure that the City is able to respond timeously to emergencies and, most importantly, save lives.
Faced with agieng fleet the City is in urgent need to replace its fire engines for provision of world class services to its residents, thus the arrival of the first set of fire engines is part of a bigger plan in revamping the fleet across various fire stations.
“I am grateful to the MMC for Safety, Cllr Michael Sun and the MMC for Group Corporate and Shared Services, Cllr Ntombi Khumalo, for their leadership in purchasing and processing the delivery of these fire engines,” said Mashaba.
Over the past five years the City of Johannesburg has experienced an alarming growth in population, putting a strain on already over-stretched resources. On average the City’s emergency command centre receives over 25 000 emergency calls a month. The Department has done a thorough assessment of the current fleet, hence we are already undergoing the process of procuring more fire engines. The current fleet delivered will be placed at Fairview Fire Station to cover areas around Malvern, the CBD and Berea.
There other two will be placed at Jabulane Fire station to cover areas in Soweto and the third fire engine will be deployed to the newly built Cosmo City fire station and will cover Diepsloot and Lonehill. The Department is providing much needed services to over 4.9 million citizens within the city. The City took a decision to commit funds to build Protea Glen and Cosmo City Fire Stations after a feasibility study showed that all emergency incidents around these areas are covered by fire stations further. The construction of any EMS facility is premised on a strategic goal to increase the accessibility of the services to the community. City of Johannesburg Public Safety Chairperson, Cllr Hilton Masera said, “The Section 79 Public Safety Oversight Committee applauds the City of Johannesburg for the delivery of three new fire engines in Fairview, Jabulani and Cosmo City.
“For years residents have been disadvantaged due to the unavailability of fire engines, whilst emergency personnel were unable to perform their duties fully due to the lack of resources.
“The new vehicles will help improve the EMS response time, and also reduce complaints from disgruntled residents who were not attended to in time.
“Although we still have a shortage of fire engines, we appreciate the efforts that the department is undertaking to resolve this problem.
“We also note that there will be two more emergency vehicles that will be delivered before the end of this financial year.
“We appeal to the department to fast track this process as the safety and wellbeing of our residents comes first.
The delivery of these fire engines is an indication that this DA-led coalition government is one that values its residents, and seeks to rectify the years of neglect in relation to service delivery.”
“These facilities are an embodiment of the City’s commitment to build safe communities and therefore a safer city. Joburg is a growing metropolitan city, with an annual budget of R39 billion Rand. It is an investment destination of choice for numerous businesses both locally and internationally.
“There are proper internal processes accessible to all aggrieved employees at all times. In our quest to becoming a leading world class African emergency management services, we will continue to engage employees to ensure a healthy work force,” added Mashaba.
