EMS gives its side of the story
The fire was caused by an exploding Liquid Petroleum Gas cylinder.
The Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi, has responded to the various allegations about the fire engine that arrived late and/ or arrived without water to extinguish a recent house fire.
The cause of the fire on 19 April was a Liquid Petroleum Gas cylinder that exploded.
According to the spokesperson, the first fire engine was dispatched and arrived on scene 12 minutes after the emergency call was logged. “The fire engine which responded first to the incident had water. However, by its nature it does not carry a lot of water – it needs to be supplemented from a proper, working fire hydrant, hence the request for the back-up fire engine which arrived later,” he said.
Read the initial article here: ‘Thanks God I’m still alive’
But, according to an eyewitness, Sithe Mavimbela, many residents called the call centre, but the fire engine only arrived an hour later.
“I drove to the fire station in Roodepoort and upon my arrival I was told they were aware of the house fire and a truck was on its way to the scene. I drove back to the scene, but by the time I got there, the fire truck still had not arrived.”
Mulaudzi advised the community to immediately call emergency services when faced with incidents such as this. “We were told that the community tried to extinguish the fire, and only when they realised it was out of control did they call the fire department”.
Apparently a security company’s bakkie was blocking the underground fire hydrant close to the burning house. Mulaudzi said although the hydrant was not clearly marked, it didn’t have enough water pressure to fight the raging fire, and a back-up truck was called in.
“Residents must remain calm, and make sure there is someone assigned to call the emergency services while they attempt to extinguish a fire. They must also make sure that all the heating devices which might cause fires at their homes are not left unattended to prevent such incidents, and always have the emergency contact numbers handy. These are 011 375 5911 (fixed line and cellphone calls), or 10177 or 112 (from cellphones only)”.
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.
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