DA probes firefighting training, capacity
FIREFIGHTERS at the eThekwini Metro Fire Department feel that they are being let down, by working in hazardous and difficult conditions.
This is according to findings from a recent oversight visit by a delegation from the DA.
In a report, the DA noted that there was a depleted number of firemen trained to deal with hazardous and chemical materials.
Hlanganani Gumbi, DA MPL, said they further found that the shortage of firemen had an impact on stations in and around the harbour and industrial areas.
“During our visit, we found that firefighters, trained in dealing with hazardous and chemical materials, are not permitted to train with appropriate gear in created scenarios, putting them at risk during live emergencies as their training becomes theoretically based.
“Another factor was that access routes into and out of informal settlements to extinguish and prevent the spread of fires remain a major issue. Also, there is reduced on-thescene firefighting capacity due to water pressure restrictions by the city, particularly in the case of highrise buildings, and urban congestion causes significant delays in arriving on the scene during emergencies,” said Gumbi.
He added that the responsibility for protecting lives and property within eThekwini lay with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in the province.
However, Lennox Mabaso, Cogta spokesperson, rubbished the DA’s findings. Mabaso accused the DA of “cherry-picking a matter that was currently very topical”.
He said with the recent fires in London and Knysna, the DA was simply localising a matter that was not as it seemed.
“The truth is being stretched in this case. eThekwini boasts one of the best capabilities when it comes to fire. We conduct regular assessments and the fire unit will be receiving more support and additional equipment.
“eThekwini just recently dealt with one of the biggest fires in recent history and were able to contain and handle it,” he said.
He was referring to the threeday warehouse fire in Clairwood in March.
Mabaso said firemen were welltrained to deal with a range of fires, and thanks to the 911 Fund – a USbased organisation, the 911 Fund – local firemen were being trained with experts in the field.
“A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Cogta and the 911 Fund was recently renewed with over R30 million of equipment being donated under a previous MoU. These fire teams come here regularly to train our firefighters. These claims made by the DA were not done by an objective institution,” he said.
Tozi Mthethwa, eThekwini spokesperson, said they had a recruitment process spearheaded by a team of line managers and staff from the human resources unit.
“Our members are trained using emergency simulations, and during the process the safety and well-being of our members is ensured, using approved firefighting equipment and safety gear.
“With regard to routes used to access informal settlements during fires, our engineering and human settlements units are currently looking at alternative solutions as to how we can improve our response time. These plans will also be influenced by the size and location of the settlement,” she said.
She said the city was looking at refurbishing its fire stations.
“The plan also includes prioritising the procurement of new uniforms. In the interim, we have procured new gloves for our firefighters,” said Mthethwa.