Community responders the life blood of safety on plots

Working with 65 active members, HELM, a community-driven emergency response team, serves approximately 600 agricultural holding households throughout Marister, Benoni AH, Zesfontein and surrounds.

For the past 15 years, the team of residents have dedicated their time, skills and expertise to not only responding and assisting with seasonal fires, but ensuring the safety of their community.

Under the guidance of Alan Mallinick, HELM effectively extinguish approximately 30 fires each winter, with equipment they personally procure.

“Living on the plots means that we have the benefit of living away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but this also means that we are far removed from essential services,” he said.

Given its proximity, residents identified threats to their safety as response times from emergency services such as firefighters, are often delayed, leading to servere damage to properties, when winter wildfires rage.

“HELM was born from this need and as community members, we decided to band together to fill this void in service delivery,” said Mallinick.

“Our team’s knowledge and skillsets have since evolved, as the need grew, and we now also assist by conducting patrols during load-shedding to prevent cable theft and opportunistic criminality, pothole repairs, minor water pipe repairs and where possible electrical repairs.

“These additional services have not been received well by the Ekurhuleni Metro but are necessary. We are not getting the services we pay for.”

Using custom-built vehicles and trailers equipped with firefighting equipment, compatible with municipal fire hydrant systems, HELM members respond timeously, in an effort to prevent property damage, injury and loss of life.

“We do not regard ourselves as heroes but needed to step up and take action. Fires do not only pose a threat to us but to the indigenous wildlife that lives in the grasslands,” he said.

However, rendering these services on a voluntary basis comes at great expense and the team rely heavily on the support of the community.

Mallinick explains that equipping one volunteer with the appropriate personal protective equipment may cost between R20 000 to R30 000.

“These costs exclude training as well as vehicles which are equipped with hoses and water tanks,” he said.

“Further costs are incurred to ensure that the equipment is properly maintained and functional.”

He said that initiatives like HELM and other community-driven projects have become a necessity in order for communities to have access to the most fundamental services.

“We are living with the consequences of there not being consequences for the mismanagement of the metro,” he said.

“Despite the push-back we are receiving, our community does not realise the full extent of the metro’s absence in our neck of the woods, because we continue to step in where they fail.”

In an attempt to raise much-needed funds for the organisation, HELM will be hosting a garden show in November.

Showcasing their sprawling gardens residents hope that city-dwellers will support the initiative and enjoy a day spent off the beaten track.

More information about the show will be made available soon.

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