“Cold Front expected to hit Johannesburg this Thursday going in towards the weekend, residents are urged to be safe”

Emergency Management Services has noted with concern the warning message from the South African Weather Service that most parts of Gauteng province including the City of Johannesburg will receive significant drop in temperatures with wet conditions, the cold front is currently moving towards the Western Cape, where forecasters say a sprinkling of snow is expected in high lying areas.

This significant drop in temperatures means that most of the citizens of the City of Johannesburg will be exposed to extremely cold temperatures forcing them to use heating and lighting appliances to try and warm themselves, these appliances might be dangerous if they are used unsafely.

The City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services will remain on high alert to make show that we respond to any emergency which might occur, the main focus will be on our 189 informal settlements throughout the city since they are the most vulnerable to fires when the weather is like this.

The City of Johannesburg Disaster Management Centre will be fully operational throughout the weekend and Disaster Management Monitoring teams have been dispatched to all 7 regions of the city to monitor any eventuality and also to facilitate any evacuations procedures whenever there is a need to do so since there is a possibility of some rainfall.

We also want to urge all our residents who are within the formal residential areas not to leave the heaters unattended while in use to avoid fire incidents.

Here are some of the safety tips:

Candle safety tips

1. Keep candles away from children
2. A child should not be left unattended in a room with a candle.
3. Store candles, matches and lighters away from the reach of children.
4. A candle should not be used to light stoves.
5. A candle should not be used in a confined space.

Heating sources such as unattended heaters to candles left burning are leading cause of home fires in the City during winter #WinterSafety pic.twitter.com/5xPhiqev8x

— City of Joburg EMS (@CityofJoburgEMS) July 12, 2017

Braizers or Imbaula

Use it in a well-ventilated area to avoid carbon monoxide inhalation, before you go to bed take it outside

Paraffin

1. Put your paraffin stove on a flat surface where it can’t fall or get knocked over.
2. Use safe containers to store paraffin eg. safety cap bottles

Before you go to bed or out

1. Never go to bed or out with a candle or paraffin lamp is still burning.
2. Switch off heaters and stoves at the plug before going to bed or out.
3. Always put out cigarettes carefully. Do not smoke in bed

51% of dwellings mostly affected by fire in winter are informal settlements;open flames are the main source of heating & cause of most fires pic.twitter.com/5P89SSBXwi

— City of Joburg EMS (@CityofJoburgEMS) July 12, 2017

For any life threatening emergencies call 10177 on Telkom landline or 112 on your Cell phone or 011 375 5911.

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