Progress made on repair of fire engines

The Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety, councillor Michael Sun, vowed to get the city’s rescue fleet back in service, and he is making progress.

Within the first month of service for the City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ) new administration, 29 fire engines have been repaired and put back into action.

Johannesburg and its residents have been plagued by a chronic shortage of fire engines for years. This has put the firefighters under enormous pressure and reduced their capacity to effectively respond to emergencies. The health and lives of residents were also under threat.

Refurbished rescue vehicles were returned to various fire stations, including Hodgson Street (Roodepoort), Florida, Orange Farm, Lonehill, Fairview, Dobsonville, Roosevelt Park, Kibler Park, Central, Hunters Hill, Jabulani and Lawley.

“We also received a new fire engine for the Roodepoort fire station,” confirmed Robert Mulaudzi, the spokesperson for CoJ’s Emergency Medical Services.

Sun has tasked a dedicated official to monitor and follow up on the maintenance of the city’s rescue fleet with the service provider, ensuring the rate-payer’s monies achieve the maximum effect.

“We must strive for service excellence, especially in the emergency rescue service. Our firefighters and paramedics always face life and death situations and often put the lives of the citizens before their own.

Regrettably, there have been incidents in the past where residents have taken their anger and frustration out on the firefighters and paramedics because of slow response times or a lack of rescue effort. They did not know about the critical shortage of rescue resources, which was the major cause of the problem the city faced. We must transparently communicate with our residents to prevent these unfortunate incidents and ensure the city will be a safer place for all,” said Sun.

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