Winter safety campaign begins in Joburg
JOBURG – Joburg EMS has embarked on a campaign to prevent fire incidents in the City.
The City of Joburg, Emergency Management Services (EMS), have embarked on a door-to-door fire awareness campaign through the different informal settlements around the City.
This is an initiative to educate communities about fire safety considering that incidents of fire escalate during the winter season.
The EMS spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi said the campaign will continue throughout this season. “We hope we will be able to reduce the number of fire incidents and fatalities,” he said.
He said, “During winter period, as emergency services, we receive an increase in terms of number of fire incidents we receive at our emergency call centre throughout the City in both informal and formal residential areas.”
He explained that most of these fires were caused by heating and lighting appliances like heaters, candles, and paraffin stoves.
“This year we will also be doing the same, targeting all our 189 informal settlements throughout the city, we have already started with our pre-winter safety campaign in Kliptown Informal Settlement,” he said.
The City introduced Jozi Safety Kit initiative in the financial year 2008/2009. It is through this initiative that informal settlements are targeted as they are most vulnerable to fire incidents.
“Since the introduction of the Jozi Safety Kit, we have seen a reduction of about 42 per cent of fire incidents and fatalities throughout the City of Johannesburg informal settlements, we hope that with this handover we will be able to have a reduction of about 50 per cent,” he said.
About 1000 households in various informal settlements across the City will receive this Jozi safety kits during the month of June, these areas include Alexandra Township, Kya Sand, Denver and Orange Farm.
The Jozi Safety Kit consists of the following items:
- A Para-Safe stove (which extinguishes itself in the event of excessive movement)
- Paraffin container with a safety cap
- A smoke detector which serves as an early warning system
- Burn kit to treat minor burns
- A lantern light
- A 25 litre bucket which can be used to store water to be used as an extinguishing agent.
Details: Joburg Emergency Management Services, 011 407 6111.
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