Management of the Randfontein Fire and Rescue Services have urged the community to give correct information when reporting fire emergencies to help them respond with the correct vehicles.
Regional Commander of the department, Bennie Mohlabeng said they have noted with great concern that people give false information with the hopes that they’ll get a quicker response.
Mohlabeng explained that they have two different sets of vehicles designed to respond for different fire emergencies. He added that these vehicles also have different capabilities.
If false information is given pertaining to any fire emergency, a wrong vehicle may be dispatched, leading to the service being impeded, potentially leading to loss of property or even lives.
“Sometimes when we arrive at the scene of a fire, we realise that the problem doesn’t require a vehicle for fighting a house fire, but that we actually need one to fight a veld fire. Now we are looking at a situation where not only an incorrect vehicle was dispatched, but we have to respond to the emergency with an inadequate vehicle,” Mohlabeng explained.
Those designed to deal with veld fire are off-road vehicles to drive on uneven and unsteady surfaces, whereas those meant for fighting infrastructure fires will tip over if used off-road.
“We are appealing to the community always to ensure that they give us the right information when they report fire incidents so that we can dispatch the right vehicle.”
Mohlabeng said providing the right information will help the department to provide the required services and save lives.
“With have equipment to deal with any kind of fire emergency, but the onus is on the community to make sure they give the right information so that we can deal with the emergency appropriately. We can’t get to fire scenes and seem helpless, while we have all the equipment to do our job,” Mohlabeng added.
For all emergencies contact Randfontein Fire and Rescue Services on WhatsApp on 068 570 4585, 068 571 8146, 082 905 5199; or call 011 951 3000 or 011 951 3030.
