Private fire services are illegally operating in the city

The city is unwilling, however, to shut them down as it is unable to service residents due to fire engine shortages with only 11 in service.

15 hours ago

Emily Wellman Bain 3 minutes read

A house is destroyed during an out-of-control blaze.

There are only 11 city-owned fire engines in service at the moment, for the whole of Johannesburg.

Spokesperson for Johannesburg EMS Robert Mulaudzi said, “Due to the shortages, we don’t have specific vehicles stationed at individual fire stations.”

A fire hydrant is checked and flushed to ensure it is working in the event of an emergency.

He says the fire department is forced to strategically place the fire engines according to the particular risk factors of different areas to ‘effectively respond to emergencies throughout the city’.

The paper asked for an update on the following fire stations specifically, Brixton, Rosebank, Roosevelt Park, Randburg, Sandton and Midrand.

Mulaudzi said, “All the stations have a full staff complement.” He offered no other information.

The reason for the shortages of fire engines is said to be because most of them, ‘are old so they are being repaired at workshops most of the time’.

Talking of the mushrooming of private firefighting companies, Mulaudzi said, “Private fire services could make a difference only if they operate within the requirements of the respective municipality. This is because the provision of fire services in any local area is the responsibility of the local fire services according to the Fire Brigade Services Act.”

Private firefighting companies are operating illegally

A blue Cats Eye in the road to indicate where a fire hydrant is located.

This seems to confirm what the paper was told that private firefighting companies are operating illegally.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior-level employee of the department, *Steve said, “Everyone outside of the City of Johannesburg is supposed to get permission from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to operate.”

Spokesperson of the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services Robert Mulaudzi . Photo: Nickolas Zaal

He says examples of where this is done legally will be at places like airports or oil refineries. “We cannot provide firefighting services everywhere, so when a place genuinely needs that service, we approve their teams.

“The private security companies in and around the city are operating illegally, but we can’t shut them down because we can’t offer the services ourselves.”

Due to the lack of accountability, they enjoy not being regulated. “They offer a service that citizens pay for via their taxes.”

A critical factor in why the fire services is so poorly stocked with the required tools to carry out their work is the ‘constantly changing political heads at council’.

Firefighters safety gear at the Roosevelt Fire Station last year was ready to be put on quickly in an emergency. Photo: Emily Wellman Bain

“With each new mayor, and there have been many in the last few years, new agreements are made, or existing ones abandoned leaving procurement and supply chain management in a mess.”

Also read: One of Joburgs youngest and bravest firefighters celebrates 4th birthday

The fire services do not secure fire engines themselves

Add to that the fact that Cogta is not allowed to import fire engines, they need to be manufactured within South Africa.

Steve says, “We can’t produce quality vehicles, nobody can on the continent. This means machines that should last at least 10 years in constant service go offline after two. It is not sustainable.”

He says the last time vehicles were imported was over 20 years ago and the over 100 fire engines have since mostly gone out of service.

“It is not a lack of funds, that needs to be clearly stated. It is a seeming lack of ability between the changing political heads and new administrations to secure tenders and then manufacturers to carry out the job successfully.”

Due to the roving nature of fire engines, when a station is without one, the crews will be booked into other units.

Mulaudzi said, “Our department has several units where we can station crews who are without a fire engine. They can continue rendering services to our communities in the hazmat, swift water, grass and urban search-and-rescue units.”

Equipment normally kept on a fire engine was laid on the ground last year at the Roosevelt Park station. Photo: Emily Wellman Bain.

Morale of the roughly 1 000 firefighters is at an all-time low

“It is terrible when a situation occurs where someone loses their life in a fire, and you are unable to prevent that because you do not have an engine to respond with. Many crews sit around all day – they lose their skills, become unfit and psychologically it wears them down.”

He was at pains to stress that this is not the fault of the fire department, the government cannot supply them with the very basics, like fire engines.