Serving the community is what makes SCP Security’s Fire and Rescue Unit one of a kind when it comes to serving the community.
The unit which was launched late last year is ‘surprisingly busy’ says owner Clive Maher. With the dry winter weather making grass a tinderbox for fire the fire crew has been extinguishing blazes across their footprint from the top of Northcliff Hill to the smaller parks as in Risidale.
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Fire chief Henry Zeiler and his crew most recently attended a massive blaze in Emmarentia at the corner of Tana Road and Hofmeyer Drive.
“We are not 100% sure what started the fire but we suspect it was an individual who started it deliberately because two sections of the park were alight simultaneously,” says Maher.
“This was definitely one of the bigger fires we’ve seen recently. The firemen put the fire out in part with fire beaters to control the direction of the fire to ensure no people or properties were affected. The crew stamped out the fire with a fire beater on the smaller areas. This contains and directs the fire safely so it did not harm any properties or people. There was a lot of smoke so our crew had to wear breathing apparatus so they could get into the thick of the fire to put it out.
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“There seems to be a lot more fires this year in my opinion. August is coming with its famous winds – I implore people to be more careful with anything that is flammable while everything is so dry as grass and such can be lit so easily and spread quickly.”
He says fires in residential areas have become a growing threat with more and more fires popping up all over the city where houses are destroyed and people are losing their belongings and everything they have worked for their entire lives ‘just going up in smoke’.
Maher says, “It is no secret that the City of Johannesburg does not have the resources to deal with these fires. So too is it well known that their response times are excessive for when people need emergency services – let alone fire engines but ambulances as well.”
He says that ratepayers pay the city for these services but as with government healthcare, policing and emergency responders, “Residents do not have faith in them anymore, hence the forming of private security, ambulance services and private hospitals have become an alternative for many who are able to. A fire engine is a big investment but one that is already making an impact as it is deployed to fight fires in public spaces and controls the scene until it is safe.”
They also conduct weekly visits to schools with learners from as young as pre-school and older to educate them on fire safety and how to behave in an emergency. “The more people who know about what to do in different situations – be it a fire or how to call for help – the better and is a service we offer out community with pride.”
When not ‘out and about’, the fire engine is stationed at the Johannesburg Surgical Hospital which is another collaboration between the two companies.
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