UnrEst: SCArED firEfiGHtErs DElAy rEsponsE to EmErGEnCiEs
MBABANE – The universal job description of a firefighter is one responsible for responding quickly to firerelated emergencies to save life and property.
However, in the wake of the political unrest, firefighters have had situations where the alarm rang loud, but the response was deliberately delayed until property was reduced to ashes.
This has attracted sharp criticism for firefighters, as citizens feel left in the lurch when targeted by arsonists. In a number of arson attacks, property owners have revealed that firefighters arrived well after the fire had died down.
In one incident, unknown gunmen set alight a horse and trailer transporting E100 000 worth of food supplies to the country at the Ngwenya Border Gate, but firefighters arrived six hours later. By that time, the truck and its stock had been reduced to a smouldering wreck.
The distraught truck driver said the emergency 112 number had been called while the fire was still controllable.
President of the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) Oscar Nkambule said the union had been made aware that firefighters’ lives were in danger from arsonists. “The people burning structures accuse firefighters of undermining their work, in that they arrived promptly to put out the flames before causing extensive damage,” he said.
He was responding to the general threat that public servants face when going to work under threatening situations. Nkambule said his advice to all public servants was that they must not put their lives in danger.
Bongani Dlamini, the Communications Officer of the Eswatini National Fire and Emergency Services (ENFES) said, in an interview, that though firefighters went through lengths to protect the lives of the people, they were faced with a different scenario, where violence was involved.
Police
“In life-threatening situations, we rely on the police to attend to the scene first before we respond to put out the flames. You will recall that firefighters do not have protective clothing that is bullet proof. Our protective clothing only protects us from the fire,” he said.
Responding to questions on why in most incidents the fire consumed everything to ashes before the arrival of firefighters, Dlamini said this was because fire spread rapidly, depending on the nature of the property being burnt. “We try our best to respond promptly once we have assurance that the police have attended to the scene. It is a pity that in some instances we find that the fire has already caused extensive damage,” he said.
He said there were instances in which the firefighters responded promptly to prevent extensive damage. “But, we are aware that we cannot compare with firefighters in Ukraine, where the firefighters respond to situations even where there is gunfire,” he said.
Dlamini believes that people’s perceptions of firefighters have to be corrected. “Some think that we only respond to situations where the fire
is targeted at a particular faction of the political situation. This is untrue because we are as impartial and fair as possible. Even if we find the perpetrators’ car having caught fire, our professional mandate is to extinguish it.
“Investigating circumstances leading to the fire is not part of our scope. All that we do is put out the fire that is threatening life and property,” he said.
Asked about the capacity of firefighters to extinguish flames, he said the major shortfall was fuel and human resource.
Resources
He said the ENFES was banking on government to ensure there were enough resources to attend to all incidents.
Firefighters have, in some instances, helped to prevent more extensive damage to property, such as the Sihlangu Semnikati Bus at Lobamba, where the fire was controlled much earlier and other incidents.