The very high temperatures and the lack of rain, coupled with a looming water shortage that is being monitored, resulting in water restrictions and throttling, is a cause for concern.
On the afternoon of 31 October, a resident from Foxglove Street had a nasty experience when the roof of the lapa in the garden caught fire. Some of the residents immediately phoned the fire station in Roodepoort for assistance, but received a very disturbing answer. One resident, who would like to remain anonymous, said he/ she was told there is no water at the station but, as soon as they were able to establish which fire station did have a tanker with water, it would be sent out to assist. The resident also said the first tanker that responded did not have water and they had to wait for another one.
Andreas Oberlechner, the chairman of the Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch (RNW) confirmed that the lapa’s roof was on fire. According to him, the fire engine that responded was from Northgate. “Luckily there was no damage to the house – the fire was restricted to the lapa,” he said.
This incident has brought a vexing question to the fore – do the fire stations have a contingency plan in the event of fires in areas affected by water restrictions or throttling?
Robert Mulaudzi, the spokesperson for Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services (EMS), was quite shocked to hear that the fire station did not have any water.
“This is not an acceptable answer and the matter will be investigated further. We are there to save lives in an emergency and this is not a valid excuse,” he said.
He confirmed that the fire stations do have contingency plans in place. “We are not affected by the water restrictions, but if we respond to an area which is, it could have an impact. Because we need to arrange for water tankers to accompany us to the area, and they sometimes come from other areas, our response times could be affected. Should there be no water in the area where we need to fight the fire, our tanks would have to be refilled from a stream or dam,” said Mulaudzi.
He had some suggestions for residents who are worried about fire fighters not arriving in time because of water difficulties. “If you can afford a fire extinguisher, you should invest in one. Residents should always have a bucket of sand (for electrical fires) and a bucket of water (for all other combustible materials) handy. These are the basic agents for extinguishing a fire,” he said.
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