Residents have grown concerned about the number of veld fires that have been breaking out in their parks over the past few weeks.
Concerned resident Lorraine Lee informed the Randburg Sun of a fire that took place in the Bromhof Wetland Project park on Ostrich Road and Parrot Street on 17 August that nearly damaged nearby homes and businesses.
She said, “Once again, a fire has ravaged the park area. This has happened before and has now destroyed vegetation and wildlife, which will take at least a year to recuperate from the devastation.”
Lee added that emergency services responded an hour after being called to the scene. In the interim, two community members had to fight the flames themselves in order to stop it from spreading to nearby shops.
Lee said, “If it were not for two brave community men, Richard and Kyle, the fire would have almost certainly spread to the neighbouring Parkside Centre and Gym Company. We, as the Bromhof community, would like to thank Richard and Kyle for their fantastic efforts to keep us all safe.”
Lee also drew attention to the lack of fire hydrants near the park saying, “We would like to request that the City of Joburg instals fire hydrants near the park area in order to protect homes and businesses from fire hazards and damage and that water can be provided efficiently and effectively.”
City of Joburg EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi confirmed that emergency services responded to the scene and that the fire may have been a controlled one that went out of control.
He also confirmed that nearby fire hydrants were not fully operational, and plans to repair them will be conducted soon.
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