BCM a smouldering fire hazard
Poor state of fire trucks, equipment a grave concern KSD’s only fire engines are out of action
BUFFALO City firefighters may be found wanting if a devastating blaze such as those that raged through the Southern and Eastern Cape recently, breaks out.
Last week, huge fires wreaked havoc in Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Sedgefield and Van Stadens, killing seven people and forcing thousands to flee their homes.
At the heart of BCM’s crisis, sources within the fire department said, was the metro’s ailing fire truck fleet, all of which continue to be used to douse deadly fires springing up around the metro.
This is despite all of them being unroadworthy or not properly equipped to deal with fire and other disasters.
The metro has seven fire stations – Fleet Street, Greenfields, Fynbos, Mdantsane, Dimbaza, King William’s Town and Vincent.
Of BCM’s six fire engines, not one is roadworthy and four were last week pulled out of service and sent for repairs.
This left two trucks, one each at the Vincent and Fynbos fire stations, to service more areas, a senior fire department source confirmed yesterday.
The Dispatch has seen a copy of the fire department’s incident report from last Tuesday’s deadly fire which engulfed parts of Duncan Village destroying 20 shacks in Douglas Street just after 9pm.
Simultaneously, wildfires erupted in an open area between Amalinda Main and Kelly Road just behind McDonald’s.
With only two operational fire engines available, “we had to prioritise Duncan Village as the fire was spreading to other shacks and people’s lives were at risk.
“This is not to say the Amalinda fire was not a priority because it could have spread to houses, but what do you do when other trucks are not available as they were due for repairs?” said a senior fire official who was on duty that night.
When more wildfires erupted in Nahoon Valley and Abbotsford on Monday, only the Vincent fire truck was operational, sources said.
“This is the same Vincent truck of which the left back door has to be fastened using wire, putting lives of the firefighters at risk,” said another source.
Worse of all is the Dimbaza Fire Station which has been operating without a fire truck for two years now, a situation which puts a lot of strain on King William’s Town firefighters.
Sources said staff at all fire centres across the metro are demoralised because the few operational fire engines have several defects, such as leaking hose equipment.
“One of these operational trucks is in such a poor state due to leaks that when you take it far afield, by the time the truck arrives, the water tank is half full,” said the insider.
But metro spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya denied the fire trucks were unroadworthy or defective.
“All fire engines do have a certificate of compliance test annually at our mechanical workshop and vehicles are checked daily.
“For those vehicles that are out of commission, we have a plan in place, and some of the items, such as the Jaws of Life [hydraulically operated rescue equipment], are at a tendering stage,” he added. .
DA councillor Sue Bentley said BCM’s fire trucks and stations were in a sorry state.
Bentley said some of the trucks lacked basic equipment, such as chainsaws and angle grinders, while other trucks had no step ladders, trauma boards or cervical collars for neck support.
“Our metro also lacks adequate hosing with available hosing equipment leaking. The problem is made worse by the limited number of nozzles available, which greatly affects the response time to a fire alarm.
“BCM fire engines also have no full sets of Jaws of Life, no fire extinguishers, no oxygen or fire blankets for burn victims, and no resuscitation devices.”
Ngwenya admitted: “Indeed there are normal burdens and challenges when it comes to issues of maintenance and servicing of our vehicles due to their complex technical nature.
“However to suggest that we are a training centre that does not have ladders, fire extinguishers and medical aid kits, is absurd,” he said.
The poor state of BCM fire stations and its fire engines is not new. The Dispatch first reported on this “ticking time bomb” in 2014, a report which focused at the state of the metro’s fire stations.
But a year later, the Dispatch quoted the metro’s then acting director of public safety and health Steve Terwin saying the city had a programme of replacing fire engines, with a budget set aside to buy three new trucks in the 2015-2016 financial year.
“For the 2016-17 financial year we have funding approved for another fire engine,” added Terwin at the time.
But Bentley said the situation had not improved to date.
Ngwenya said when mayor Xola Pakati tables his state of the metro address today, he “will be announcing the arrival of a new state-of-the-art fire engine, which is expected to arrive in the city this weekend”. THE embattled King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality’s only two fire engines were taken in for repairs two months ago and at the moment, has no capacity to battle a major fire.
And, apart from a lack of fire engines, firefighters have no breathing apparatus.
These shocking revelations were made by firefighters when the Daily Dispatch visited the municipal fire station to check on its capacity to fight fires, in the wake of the massive fires that raged through the southern Cape and south Eastern Cape recently. Both KSD trucks were bought more than 10 years ago and are in a state of disrepair.
KSD communications manager Sonwabo Mampoza, after consulting chief fire officer Jason Subramoney, confirmed that the municipality had no operational fire engine as both were in for repairs.
Apart from the fire engines, and the lack of oxygen masks, firefighters claimed their protective clothing was of such poor quality that one of them nearly died when his jacket caught alight.
KSD charges households R377.90 and businesses R680 a year for fire levies.
The local authority is supposed to have a fully-fledged fire department to cover its 105 240 houses with a population of close to 500 000 according to the 2011 Census.
Instead, it has to rely on the O R Tambo district municipality, the airport and the 14 South African Infantry military battalion for assistance in case of fire.
The KSD Fire Department is supposed to service Mthatha, Mqanduli, Coffee Bay, Hole-inthe-Wall and other surrounding villages.
“There have been no fire engines for the past two months. All are in for repairs,” Mampoza said.
“But it does not mean that we have been left with nothing to cover the area.
“There is a standing order to get assistance from the Mthatha Airport, 14 SAI and O R Tambo. Residents must not lose hope – we are committed to servicing them,” he assured.
This means the most central fire station in Mthatha which could respond first to any fire in town is not in a position to do so.
Instead, the municipality has to request fire engines located about 5km to more than 10km from the CBD.
Mampoza said the only fire department in KSD was in Mthatha and there were no satellite sites in Mqanduli, Coffee Bay or Hole-in-theWall which are located more than 100km away.
“There are plans to have a satellite station in