Playing with fire

It is therefore essential that constant maintenance work is done to keep these vehicles roadworthy and fully operational.

The EMS Logistic and Fleet Department is in charge of the maintenance of the vehicles.

EMS senior district manager for emergency planning, Pieter Rudolph, claims the trucks are serviced based on the operational hours of the vehicle.

“If a vehicle has a breakdown, an official order will be obtained through the supply chain management procedures and will then be fixed by the service provider,” he says.

However, due to the fact that the fleet is part of the Disaster and Emergency Management Services, the repair of vehicles is done on a daily basis.

According to Rudolph, this is done once the vehicle repair backlog is completed.

A fire engine is equipped with an engine which pumps water.

This can be obtained by an on-board water supply, fire hydrant, water tender (tanker) or any other available water source by using draft water suction.

Rudolph says when a tank runs empty at a scene, firefighters connect the hose to a fire hydrant to fill it up again.

“Open water sources such as rivers, dams or swimming pools close to a fire can also be used, but the use depends on accessibility,” he says.

The type of fire will determine if the firefighters use water or foam.

Rudolph says they generally use water, but if it a chemical, electrical or flammable liquid fire, other extinguishing mediums or applications will be used.

The different types of foam used to extinguish fires varies from low, medium to high expansion.

He adds daily routine checks are done to check all the equipment and to make sure that the vehicles are ready when there is a fire.