Alleged inefficiency by firefighters destroys home in Alan Manor
“I feel due to inefficiency and a lackadaisical attitude by the emergency services, Nomsa has lost her home.”
A FIRE that had been contained at a home in Kalant Street, Alan Manor, flared up again after the fire department left the premises, destroying the home.
According to Rosemary Hodges, a neighbour of Nomsa Shange, whose home was destroyed in the fire, “On Friday evening, August 10, just minutes before midnight, I saw smoke coming from Nomsa’s home and went up to see what was happening. Nomsa and her family were at home and were trying to put out a fire in the main bedroom. The fire services had been called three times by Nomsa. Another neighbour had also placed five calls. Eventually, and as a last resort, I asked my sister-in-law Teressa, who was also present, to press the panic button and request our armed response to also alert the emergency services of the fire. With our hosepipes and assistance from one other neighbour we managed to contain the fire in the bedroom but a fire was alight in the passage which we tried to reach with our hoses but couldn’t quite put it out fully.
“It took the emergency services 45 minutes to reach the house and when the team arrived they were certainly in no hurry and arrived without their kit on,” said Rosemary. “They proceeded to take a look and only then went back to the fire engine to put their kit on and unreel their hoses. There is no fire hydrant in our street at all and after dousing the fire, their hoses ran out of water. The fire chief in charge, a woman, went back outside to write up her report and I told her one of the ceilings’ wooden gum poles was still smouldering red. She said ‘I’m just filling in my report and then we’ll go back into the house and check everything is alright’.
“At this point, the only damage to the house was the complete destruction of the bedroom where the fire had started and the cupboard in the passage. Further than that there was minimal damage, including a dining room light fitting had fallen onto the table and in the main bedroom the curtain had burnt at the top and a corner of the bed was burnt,” added Rosemary. There was also a gas cylinder in one of the rooms which they took outside.
“I came home at 2am and thought everything was under control so I took a bath and went to bed. The next morning when I went to see if everything was fine, the fire had apparently flared up again and burnt down most of the rooms at the back of the house. All the bedrooms were totally destroyed. The house is totally unliveable now and Nomsa and her daughter are having to find alternative living accommodation. Thankfully her insurance company have been wonderful.
“I feel due to inefficiency and a lackadaisical attitude by the emergency services, Nomsa has lost her home.”
Robert Mulaudzi, the spokesperson of the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, was approached and asked for comment:
“Yes, we did respond to the incident, however, we didn’t respond to the incident within the stipulated response time of 15 minutes from the time of receiving the call, due to another incident in the area.
“In terms of the professionalism displayed by the firefighters, they had to go and receive an update from the people who were on site trying to extinguish the fire. However, if there is a complaint regarding the service rendered we advise the residents to lay a formal complaint with the city so the matter can be investigated further.”
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