Hundreds of Joburg’s firefighters, nearly 20% of them, have been suspended
This leaves the city even more vulnerable if disaster were to strike.
ACSA firefighters on standby to assist the City of Johannesburg battle the persistent blaze are pictured outside the Bank of Lisbon building in the CBD, 6 September 2018. Picture: Refilwe Modise
Eyewitness News reported on Friday morning that at least 230 firefighters from the City of Johannesburg have been suspended.
It was reported that this stemmed from incidents in July where firefighters refused to attend call-outs, which in turn highlighted the problem of a lack of supervisors.
They further reported that they had seen suspension letters issued to firefighters across the city, who have told the news site that they intend to get those in charge to comply with the law. Firefighters are accusing the city’s Emergency Services Management (EMS) of not complying with the National Health Act.
They told EWN that if there were to be an emergency, there would be a crisis, with the suspended firefighters constituting over 17% of the workforce.
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EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi confirmed the suspensions, adding that there was no need to panic, and that the matter was being dealt with internally.
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) and the Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers Union (Demawusa) are reportedly planning to challenge the suspensions.
Embattled firefighters in Johannesburg have had to deal with dire fire truck shortages. In July, it was reported that Johannesburg only had 12 fire engines available, five of which were in for repairs.
Mayor Herman Mashaba confirmed the shortage of resources, adding that the city was underprepared for a major fire disaster. He said the city had made attempts to ensure the old fleet was repaired and serviced, but that vehicles from the inherited fleet continue to break down.
At the time, the seven operational trucks are stretched between six districts in the city. In the event of a fire, should a fire station not have an available fire engine, the next available fire station would provide support.
A full investigation into the state of affairs was also launched by Mashaba, who suspected “sabotage.”
More to follow as information is made available.
Compiled by Nica Schreuder. Additional reporting by Gopolang Moloko.
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