Editor –
It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter, especially after last week’s edition of the Estcourt News regarding the Estcourt Fire Department’s vehicles returned to the supplier.
READ THIS: Fire Department comes under fire for ‘pathetic’ service
On October 18, one of our work colleagues went home, only to discover that her house was burning down. She was crying for help, because the small buckets of water were nowhere near enough to help put out the leaping flames.
I made numerous calls to try and assist from my side and got shot down by Alpha Control, who clearly stated that they had already received a call regarding this specific fire incident, but could not assist at all.
They stated that the municipality has managed to bring its old unit back into service, so why could they not use this vehicle to assist with the emergency?
Unless, of course, it really is in no working condition, as pointed out by an anonymous source. DISGRACEFUL! If they cannot assist in an emergency, then what are they still doing answering a telephone behind that desk?
Just to tell the public they cannot assist? Utterly unacceptable as far as I’m concerned, because a person’s house and belongings are burning down to the ground and they cannot help.
What I can say is I made a few other calls to other people who could perhaps help urgently and the farmers from surrounding areas responded promptly to assist, so thank you to all hands that helped. It seems as though we will have to resort to you guys in any case of fire emergency.
It’s just very disappointing and disheartening when reality kicks in and you find yourself in this situation. You can no longer rely on the Estcourt Fire Brigade to assist. Now you have to resort to others who are willing to come to your rescue.
Disheartened
A copy of this letter was sent to Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality’s Communication Department for a response, but none was received at the time of publishing this post.
ALSO SEE: Fire services in the red
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