Miguel Abrahams, the Bedfordview Fire Station’s manager, has seen several changes at the station over the years.
The station was built in the 70s. Its current staff aims to uphold the station’s main objective which is to keep the Bedfordview community safe.
Station manager Floyd Nkosi told the NEWS the station was officially opened on November 11, 1977, and named after the then mayor of Bedfordview Town Council, Ted Kirby.
RWB Weldon was the first fire chief.
“In 1977 there were about 22 fire fighters. We now have 26 and four reservists,” said Nkosi.
Nkosi said in the past, the station worked on a 24-hour shift system, from 7am to 7am the next day, as it needed sufficient manpower to respond to calls.
Presently, the 24-hour system is broken down in two shifts, from 7am to 6pm, and a second shift from 6pm to 7am.
“One of the unique aspects of our operation is our fire station’s tower. Newer stations do not have towers.
“The tower was built for fire training when confronted with high-rise structures. The tower has floors which resemble high-rise buildings. We still use it for internal and service training,” said Nkosi.
“In the past you had to clean, wash and drain the hoses and hang them from the tower to dry. Now we have hoses that resist mould,” said Nkosi.
The team now washes the hoses and packs them up, ready for the next call.
“In the past the hoses delayed the station’s reaction to the next call, but now with the help of technology and new developments, we are are able to save time,” said Nkosi.
He added that older station had single quarters where firefighters stayed throughout the night due to long hours of work.
“The single quarters do not exist anymore. Newer fire stations do not have such quarters. This is due to firefighters working fewer hours. Fire fighters now go home after their shifts. There are fire fighters, though, who stay in the married quarters at our station,” said Nkosi.
“The station used to have a slip road onto the N3 to respond to incidents, but in responding to those incidents, fire engines were involved in collisions due to speeding vehicles. It created a big and uncontrollable collision risk,” said Nkosi.
He said the way in which the slip road was designed became a safety risk and had to be closed.
The station also covers Gillooly’s interchange, one of the biggest interchanges in the country.
“We cover a number of collisions with passengers trapped in their vehicles at the interchange. We cover the N3, N12, R24 freeways and even some parts of the M2 motorways. These freeways are all on our shoulders,” said Nkosi.
Public engagement
The station is divided into divisions: operational, logistics and public information education and relations (PIER).
“The main objective of PIER is to engage with the community on what the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) do. We also provide information and education on what to do when there is fire, and even on the medical side. We give basic training to the community,” said Nkosi.
He added that PIER helps to build relationships between the station and communities and organisations.
On the day of the NEWS’ visit, firefighters welcomed the little Edenvale resident, Layton Slater (3), who was eager to engage with them.
“In the past, children could come to have a ride on the fire engine, but now due to legislature and new rules and regulations, only operational firefighters should be in the fire engines due to safety reasons. The normal visits to the station are still welcome, but children are no longer allowed to go on rides. They can view the fire engines and learn more about the station. This is done through our PIER section.
“We do service and fire training daily, along with risk visits to companies, where we identify risks. We also inspect fire hydrants in the area to ensure we always have water and to make sure ambulances are fully equipped,” said Nkosi.
He said in the past, the station had a control room which received emergency calls directly from local residents.
However, calls are now received by the Emergency and Life Threatening Call Centre from where fire fighters are dispatched.
“Bedfordview is developing into a town with high-rise buildings and we need all the requirements in order to respond to any sort of emergency. Ekurhuleni has hydraulic platform fire engines which work well with high rise-buildings, but it is centralised,” said Nkosi.
Nkosi said it would be a dream come true for Bedfordview Fire Station to have their own hydraulic platform fire engine.
