#9Dead: Fire incidents a worry for Coj’s EMS
EMS issues important shack fire warnings to residents.
The City of Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services (EMS) has noted with much concern the number of young children who are losing their lives during fire incidents when left unattended without supervision throughout the City of Johannesburg.
These fires led to unnecessary deaths of nine young children across South Africa in various shack fire incidents, four children were killed in Alexandra while they were left unattended and on the same day two boys died when their home also burned down in Kagiso, West Rand, three other children were killed in Browns Farm in Philippi in Cape Town on Monday.
- Shack fire leaves young Dobsie learner orphaned – [also read]
In most of this fire incidents, young children are left unattended and this makes them vulnerable to fire incidents because they might be tempted to prepare food for themselves in the process they might be injured by the heating devices they normally use at home things like candles, paraffin stoves.
EMS stated that these unforeseen circumstances are preventable if residents refrain from leaving young children unattended at home and also use proper cooking, heating, and lighting appliances and know how to identify the risks in their households and remove them.
During winter last year, EMS responded to about 242 fire incidents within the city of Johannesburg ‘s informal settlements.
It is unfortunate that eight people died during these fire incidents, in most of these fire incidents young children are left alone at home to look after other young children at home and are also given responsibility to cook for themselves in the processes being vulnerable to these fire incidents, even though there was a reduction in terms of the fatalities compared to the winter in 2016 where about 23 people lost their lives we cannot celebrate until we have zero fire incidents throughout the city.
It is for this reason that the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services through their Public Information Education and Relations (PIER) section responsible for public education within EMS will be intensifying our Public Education Initiatives advising all our communities throughout the City of Johannesburg.
Especially residents in the 189 informal settlements on how to use this heating and lighting appliances safely. EMS hopes that all the residents will be able to work together with us in order to prevent loss of lives in our communities.
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