The official number of fire engines available to the city at the moment is 11, according to the spokesperson for Johannesburg EMS, Robert Mulaudzi. This figure is, however, disputed by private firefighting entities who say the number is much lower.
Mulaudzi 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’.
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The shortage of city fire engines is what entities like Fire Ops SA and Fidelity SecureFire say is the reason they started their firefighting outfits.
Mulaudzi, however, says many of these private firefighting companies are not operating legally. “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, and not that of private firefighting companies.”
Wynand Engelbrecht from Fire Ops SA, however, disputes the claim that services such as theirs require any permission from the municipality.
“We have an excellent working relationship with the city’s emergency services, so to say we are operating illegally is not correct.”
He says they are a private business with whom citizens have a right to do business. “Our clients have a right to have their assets protected. In the seven years we have been in business we have attended
3 500 building fires in central Gauteng – that excludes veld or vehicle fires.”
This, he says, proves there is a need for the service.
He likens their service to those who provide private security to residents – even though there are many police stations, or private healthcare facilities, despite there being many government hospitals and clinics.
Also read: Only 11 fire trucks service the entire City of Johannesburg
Minutes count when dealing with fire
According to Engelbrecht, Fire Ops SA’s response times from receiving an alert to arriving on the scene of the fire is between seven and 12 minutes. Mulaudzi says the city’s times are between 15–30 minutes.
This journalist recently drove past and stopped at a house in Orange Grove which had a small amount of smoke coming through a window. In mere minutes, the entire building was engulfed in a massive fire, proving how quickly fires can spread – illustrating how important a swift response time is.
Wahl Bartmann, CEO of Fidelity Services Group, says since its launch in August 2023, Fidelity SecureFire has responded to over 300 fires in Gauteng.
“Our first responder model has been particularly successful, especially at a time when most fire stations around the country are grappling with resource constraints.”
Addressing concerns about the service’s legality, Bartmann says, “No existing regulations are preventing private companies from offering such services. We are privately contracted with our clients, much like our security services.”
Fidelity too says they collaborate well with municipal outfits and are, ‘supporting city efforts with additional manpower and water resources when needed’.
“A significant challenge faced by municipal structures is often the inadequate supply of water which can hinder timely responses even when emergency services arrive promptly. To mitigate this, Fidelity SecureFire offers a water-carrying capacity of up to 20 000 litres and together with its FireBlock product, can quadruple water capacity, ensuring robust emergency response capabilities.”
City can’t import fire engines
Mulaudzi says one of the reasons for the shortages of city fire engines is because most of them, ‘are old so they are being repaired at workshops most of the time’.
Replacing old fire engines was envisaged to be easier when it was decided in 2000 to no longer import the vehicles.
Local plants would assemble and manufacture the trucks, boosting the local economy that would also make accessing spare parts easier than for imported fire engines.
Michael Sun, a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and former councillor in the City of Johannesburg said, “This has not worked out as smoothly as originally envisaged.”
He says the procurement process is lengthy and complex. “There are only a handful of companies who can deliver fire engines, and they are expensive, costing between R4–6m each.”
The fire department as part of emergency services is not responsible for the purchasing of vehicles for their fleets. That is handled by the GCSS – Group Corporate Shared Services fleet unit who does not operate with urgency, says Sun. “I have advocated for the city to set up a dedicated fire engine procurement unit to get things operating more effectively.”
He talked of a recent contact to supply engines to the city as having been withdrawn by the city because the company could not provide the necessary guarantees of performance for the multimillion-Rand deal. “It will take at least six to eight months to identify and secure another contract.
EMS personnel not to blame
When asked about private firefighting entities operating without the necessary permissions from the city, Sun said, “The number of functioning fire engines and other vehicles like water tankers and Skid units is insufficient and we can’t pretend otherwise. I wish the city and these companies would come together formally with an MOU to collaborate. Whoever has a vehicle the closest to a fire should be able to respond first. The problem, however, is who is in charge of a scene.”
In theory, he says it should be the city as they are the legislated arm of the city to carry out this service, but if someone else arrives before then, ‘it can lead to frustrations on the ground’.
Morale is low
Roosevelt Park Fire Station commander Harris Ndove says morale is low among his crew.
“We have a full complement of firefighters, but our truck remains in the workshop. It is tough mentally when a fire happens on our doorstep, and we are unable to rush to the scene to assist meaningfully.”
A member of the fire services who spoke to the paper on condition of anonymity said, “It is difficult psychologically when you continuously report to work but do not have the tools you need to do your job. When someone is badly injured or loses their life from a fire because of a lack of resources it is devastating.”
INFO BOX
- 250 000 emergency calls are made to the city’s emergency call centre annually
- 31 fire stations across the seven regions
- Emergency services cater to 6.2 million residents
One of the shift teams at Roosevelt Park Fire Department is always ready to respond to emergency calls.
In an emergency
- Call 011 375 5911 or 112 if calling from a cellphone.
- Try to remain calm.
- Describe the emergency to the operator.
- Give clear information about the location of the emergency.
- Stay on the call for as long as possible to answer any questions.
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