Over 90% of fire engines in Kempton Park not functional

After questioning its functionality and staff competency, the Kempton Fire Station has attracted much attention recently.

Severe staff shortages and several broken fire engines sparked interest from local councillors.

Clr Tracy Laurenco said the Kempton Park fire services was on its knees, with over 90% of all fire engines broken and gathering dust.

Residents were left helpless because there were not enough emergency vehicles available to respond to life-threatening emergencies.

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“Of the 11 fire engines allocated to Kempton Park’s two fire stations, only one works.

“Kempton Park Fire Station is the worst affected, with all six fire engines not working, while the Commercial Fire Station has five fire engines, of which only one works,” she said.

She added that the CoE’s fire services have fallen into disrepair, with 80% of all fire engines broken down, non-operational, or collecting dust.

“While four million residents are left helpless in the event of a fire, nothing is being done to ensure their safety,” she said.

“It was recently revealed that of the 184 fire engines owned by the CoE, shockingly, only 37 are operational, rendering the emergency service paralysed.

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“A critical service supposed to assist residents in their hour of need is itself in critical condition and needs saving.”

Additionally, Laurenco said that if one looks at South African National Standards, Community Protection Against Fire (SANS 10090), which stipulates the minimum standards for rendering fire services, it is clear that the CoE is failing in every category.

Of the 30 fire stations, 11 have no operational fire engines, and another 10 only have one working fire engine.

“The situation is beyond critical. It is now severe because people’s lives and property are in danger,” she said.

In previous reportage by the Kempton Express, we spotlighted non-working fire engines.

The media liaison officer of emergency services, William Ntladi, said fire engines internationally are built according to NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association) standards, which meant at least each major pumper or rescue pumper fire engine should carry five personnel when responding to an incident, and this excludes specialised vehicles such as hydraulic platforms, foam tenders, grass fire engines and other specialised vehicles used in the service.

He said the CoE’s residents are in the capable hands of the ever-ready emergency services to render all necessary responsibilities as expected.

ALSO READ: Thembisa fire station has a 36% staff shortfall

He spoke to the Kempton Express again on this matter.

“Fire operational procedures have been sectionalised in districts to sustain service delivery matters within the entire CoE, not only the erstwhile individual towns.

“Each district has an average of three fire stations to cover the areas of their responsibilities easily and on time,” he said.

He added that the vehicles or council fleet are administered from a central municipal point, and the relevant department is dealing with the matter.

There were meetings with these service providers where they were asked to fast-track repairs on these vehicles, aiming to have most of them back before the festive season.

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“Some are already back from the workshops and are fully operational in their respective and allocated fire stations.

“Those taken out of commission due to accident damages are waiting for insurance companies’ interventions,” he said.