When a house caught fire on Plantation and the homeowner sustained severe injuries on July 31, the residents said they believed the house could have been saved if there were enough fire hydrants in the area.
Wendy Strydom, the owner of the house that was partially destroyed by the fire, said the firefighters could have stopped the fire in time if there was a fire hydrant next to her house.
“Firefighters arrived quite quickly but struggled to contain the fire because they had to connect their hosepipe to a fire hydrant far away from our house.
“We are pleading with the metro to look into the shortage of fire hydrants and get more installed in our area.”
The metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said its not true to say that fire hydrants are not enough in the area and in most areas.
“Fire hydrants are being maintained to serve their purpose and will not be removed by the metro at any time. Some of the shorter created fire hydrants could be covered by rubble as a result of construction work done in those areas.
“We expect community members to report such incidents immediately. All complaints relating to fire hydrants should be reported at Ekurhuleni Customer Care Centre on the contact number is 0860 543 000. Alternatively, log the complaint on My City of Ekurhuleni App.
“Fire hydrants are installed according to specifications of the Code of Practice Standardised Specification for Civil Engineering Construction 1200 as well as the guidelines of human settlement planning and design as compiled by the CSIR.
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“The metro installs tamper-proof fire hydrant heads and shorter hydrants as safety measures. The City of Ekurhuleni will continue to further find innovative ways to ensure that unauthorised people don’t tamper with fire hydrants,” said Dlamini.
The EMS spokesperson, Eric Maloka said under the Code of Practice Standardised Specification for Civil Engineering Construction 10400 it is recommended that all households should have fire extinguishers.
“EMS is only having the subsection Public Information Education and Relations (PIER) drives to educate the public about living a fire-free life, but having a fire extinguisher in your home is not compulsory.
“We have also recommended every household to install heat and smoke detectors,” said Maloka.
Generator safety tips:
• A generator produces carbon monoxide, making it mandatory to run from outside.
• Protect yourself from the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning; preferably wear a mask in the presence of generator fumes.
• Operate it on a dry flat surface, preferably in a sheltered well-ventilated room/place.
Do’s
• Service the generator regularly.
• Ensure proper maintenance.
• If operating a portable generator from the garage, leave the garage door completely open for ventilation to take place
• Close the doors going into the main house from the garage to prevent fumes from entering the house.
• Use a funnel to refuel the generator to avoid spilling fuel.
• Keep children away from the generator.
• Use the correct fuel.
Don’ts
• Avoid running a generator in an enclosed space to avoid an accumulation of carbon monoxide fumes.
• Avoid using poor-quality fuel.
• Avoid fuelling up while the generator is operating or still running.
• Don’t sleep with the generator running.
• Don’t cover the generator to avoid overheating.
Also Read: What to do if your car catches fire
