“We have been waiting for this huge red elephant to arrive to equip our municipality in the fight against fire,” were the words of Cllr Muleleki Nkosi (speaker LLM) at the opening ceremony.
The fire truck which is valued at around R6 million is one of two trucks that has been allocated to LLM. “As one of the smallest municipalities, LLM has a growing population of around 435 000 and the safety of our people is of high priority. We are pleased to welcome the new fire engine to our team of fire fighters,” Kate Rakitla (MMC community services) said.
“Roads such as the R23, N3 and N17 are linked to Heidelberg and our emergency response teams are often called out to incidents on these roads. It is therefore of utmost importance that we are fully equipped,” Rakitla added. Lerato Maloka (LLM executive mayor) thanked the fire fighters and emergency response units for their dedication to residents. “LLM is a people-centred municipality and the arrival of the new fire engine displays our commitment towards service delivery to our people,” she said.
Maloka and Nkosi officially welcomed the fire engine by cutting the ribbon. The firefighters and emergency response teams demonstrated how the fire truck and equipment is used when reacting to an accident scene. A scene of a man trapped inside a car was created and the emergency response teams demonstrated how to use the jaws of life to rescue the trapped man.
