WATCH VIDEO: EMS distributes fire safety kits so informal settlement dwellers stay fire safe this winter
Sun said, "Fires have led to so many unnecessary deaths and sadly, these fires destroy people's dwellings and leaves them with nothing. It is important for people to know that these circumstances can be prevented if people are educated about how to properly use cooking and lighting equipment and to know how to identify the risks in their households and remove them."
The City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ) Emergency Management Services (EMS) has noted the number of lives and property loss as a result of fires, especially during the winter season. For this reason, the CoJ EMS acting executive director, Mhlengu Makhubalo and member of the mayoral committee (MMC) of public safety, councillor Michael Sun, launched a winter fire safety campaign on June 4 in hopes of educating communities about fire prevention and reducing the number of fatalities and injuries these fires can create.
Sun said, “Fires have led to so many unnecessary deaths and sadly, these fires destroy people’s dwellings and leaves them with nothing. It is important for people to know that these circumstances can be prevented if people are educated about how to properly use cooking and lighting equipment and to know how to identify the risks in their households and remove them.”
The campaign was launched at the Rietfontein Fire Station in Lenasia where residents from the Jackson informal settlement in Eikenhof were present. A number of residents received after completing a safety and first aid course. Afterwards, EMS officials and the MMC visited the informal settlement where the first 100 Jozi safety buckets were distributed to the residents. Sun and Makhubalo handed over the fire safety kits and explained how the contents were to be used, ensuring that the inhabitants were well versed on how to use the kits correctly.
The safety kits consists of a fire extinguisher, a solar light, a child-proof paraffin bottle, a smoke detector, a new and improved paraffin stove as well as burn care ointments and bandages to treat burns. Sun and Makhubalo conducted a simulation to educate residents about how to extinguish a fire effectively and efficiently. During the simulation, residents rallied together to fill up buckets of water to assist the officials with extinguishing the fire. “When a fire occurs, the most important thing is for the community to work together. These residents proved that to me today,” said Sun.
WATCH: Fire Safety demonstration with MMC Michael Sun.
