Benoni fire station assailed

OPERATIONS at a Benoni fire station came to a standstill yesterday after protesting community members damaged the building, Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services said in a statement.

It said the incident occurred at around 8.15am.

“Stones and various assortments of objects were used to break newly revamped machine bay doors and office windows,” the statement said.

The protesters came from Actonville and were on their way to the customer care centre in the Benoni city centre. The extent of the damage was still undetermined.

Emergency operations had been suspended until the situation was normalised. “Temporary exigency plans had been put in place in case of any eventualities that might arise around the operational jurisdiction,” the Disaster and Emergency Management Services said.

Emergencies in the area would be attended to by surrounding fire brigades such as Brakpan, Farrarmere and Boksburg.

However, owing to the distances to be travelled, response times would be longer.

“As per information received, Safety at Sport and Recreation Event Act 2 of 2010, the march wasn’t allowed, as all necessary requirements and procedures were not met and followed.”