Ward 102 councillor Lucinda Harman is concerned about the lack of emergency services available to the residents of Johannesburg.
According to Harman, this follows incidents when two mini substations in Blairgowrie caught fire and burnt out, and Randburg Fire Station was unable to be contacted by residents.
“This lack of communication became evident, particularly in the second fire, where the station only responded after local security companies personally visited the station to alert them. It is wholly unacceptable that residents are unable to contact emergency services.”
Human also raised concerns about the Randburg fire truck that is undergoing repairs.
The spokesperson for Joburg EMS Robert Mulaudzi said the Randburg Fire Station was fully operational day and night.
“Yes there is a network connection problem in the area, hence our phones are not working due to connectivity, however, our IT/Phone department is working on the issue as a matter of urgency. The issue of telephones cannot affect service delivery in the area. When residents have a life-threatening emergency, we encourage them to call our central Emergency Call Centre number used by all residents of Johannesburg.”
He added this is the contact number which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without fail.
“At any given time, our emergency services dispatchers can send any available vehicle to attend to any emergency which has been reported… residents of Randburg and surrounding areas will always have a platform to contact Joburg EMS as and when required.”
Mulaudzi confirmed that the fire truck has been in for repairs for some time now.
“At this stage, we can’t say exactly when are we expecting it back in operation because it depends on the nature of repairs and availability of parts. The station has other vehicles used to respond to veld fires and a Rapid Intervention Unit which normally responds to motor vehicle accidents and other rescue-related emergencies.
He emphasised that there is no fire truck which belongs to a certain fire station or a certain residential area or suburb.
“All the fire trucks in Johannesburg belong to all the areas within the city. They can be deployed in any area at any given time, depending on the need and requirements of that particular emergency. So, we don’t loan any fire truck from one station to another, instead we deploy resources accordingly due to the risk we might have at that time.”
He admitted that the City of Johannesburg EMS does have a shortage of fire trucks, however, between 10 and 15 fire trucks are operational day and night.
These vehicles are strategically deployed in high-risk areas so they can effectively respond to all emergencies throughout the city.
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