It’s raining fire engines at the West Rand District Municipality (WRDM), and this could mean better service delivery for its consumers.
On Thursday, 27 October, the WRDM received its five brand-new fire engines which will be used to service the entire West Rand including the Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM).
The newly elected executive district mayor, Boyce Maneli, Heather Butler, the Public Safety MMC and firefighters alike stood chest out and proud in the district parking lot when the fire engines arrived.
The fire engines were designed and delivered by Simunye Fleet Management who were awarded a tender for supplying of the fire engines.
Balefilwe Raphala, General Manger of Simunye Fleet Management said the fire engines will be maintained by them for three years as part of the package, which means all firefighters need to do is operate the vehicles and put out the fires.
Maneli said the move to get new fire engines is part of his Five-year Plan, and part of his 100-Day Plan. “This proves we did not lie; we delivered and the fire engines are here to enhance service delivery,” he said.
The fire engines are unlike any the West Rand has seen before – they are equipped to deal with just about anything – from house fires to road accidents. They come equipped with the Jaws of Life and have a 1 000 litre tank capacity, both of which come with a lifetime guarantee. In addition, the engines come with various other rescue equipment.
“The engines will serve both fire-fighting emergencies and rescue emergencies,” Maneli said.
Because the vehicles are equipped for various situations, they will save the WRDM money – money that can go to other service delivery related matters. Maneli assured the community that the current vehicles used for rescue will not be decommissioned; they will now be used for their specific purposes without putting a strain on other resources.
Maneli said there are other plans in future to replace bigger fire engines on the West Rand but for now the five new engines need to go through the WRDM books and get on the road as soon as possible.
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