Welcome addition to fire stations

Twenty-eight new fire engines have been purchased by the City of Johannesburg and 160 new firefighters employed to improve service delivery to all residents.

The fire engines have been purchased at a total cost of R189 million and will be deployed in all 28 fire stations across the city’s seven regions, including Roodepoort, Florida and the newly built stations in Protea Glen and Cosmo City.

This is good news for many residents, as there have been numerous incidents since the beginning of this year, where emergency services were needed and were either too late or the vehicle was not equipped to handle the type of incident.

Also read: Photos and video: House gutted less than 1km from fire station

According to Robert Mulaudzi, the spokesperson for the City of Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services (EMS), each fire station will receive one new engine which will be added to the existing fleet that is still in good condition. “Some of the fire engines in the existing fleet are more than 30 years old, but they will not be discarded. These vehicles will be taken in for comprehensive repairs and maintenance,” Mulaudzi said.

According to the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Safety, councillor Michael Sun, the acquisition of the new and technologically advanced engines will significantly improve the response times of the EMS. “The newly appointed firefighters will be extensively trained to rescue the city’s residents from dangerous situations. I think the new fire engines and more firefighters are long overdue,” Sun said.

Also read: Progress made on repair of fire engines

The delivery of the new fire engines is expected to take place between the end of March and October. “Until we have a good quality and mechanically sound fleet of fire engines we will be unable to improve our turnaround times. Fire engines are very expensive and we are looking at other ways to maintain our fleet rather than just writing the old vehicles off. We could refurbish those that are maintainable and use them as back-up vehicles in emergencies,” he said.

Although this news sounds good, the reality of the matter is that Roodepoort will – even after the new vehicle is delivered – still only have one operating vehicle for the area, as the current fire engine was involved in an accident earlier this year.

The question remains: “Will this really make a difference for residents?” Let us know in the comments box below what you think.

Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.

For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine

Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!