Fire response bodes well for the future
SO great was the community response in assisting the woodchip firefighting effort at NCT that there might well be permanent positive upshots as and when future disasters occur.
Not only will unused food, water, medicines and other resources be stored for future use, but the volunteers who assisted with logistics, food preparation, collections, deliveries and other vital functions will be co-opted as an emergency ‘reservist-type’ group should other emergencies arise.
This arose from a meeting at Fuzion Ministries in Dollar Drive on Thursday afternoon, where a cavalcade of NCT-led fire tenders and vehicles paraded firefighters who wanted to say ‘thank you’ to all who supported them through more than a week of dangerous work battling the intense blaze.
NCT general manager Danny Knoesen was emotional about the level of community support that poured in from all quarters, and the way in which Fuzion Ministries Pastor Chad Jones and his team acted as the organisational pivot of the programme.
He introduced all the firefighters, saying: “These are the people you have been feeding and helping as they protected the community.
“We are eternally grateful to them and to the external fire crews from our other NCT branches, as well as Fidelity ADT who we brought in. But they could not have done it without your support.”
Knoesen also praised the help and guidance they received from the City of uMhlathuze, specifically via Deputy Mayor Christo Botha ‘who gets things done quickly’.
Cllr Botha in turn applauded all parties concerned in the successful overcoming of the fire that threatened both home and neighbouring industries, adding
Bell Equipment and Samco Pumps to the list that included fire crews from the municipality, South32, Mondi and the port.
“We saw Richards Bay pulling together as we did during Covid and the 2021 riots when our town was one of the few saved from looters.”
Every single donor and donation, including cash, which came through Fuzion Ministries was logged and what is over ‘belongs to the community’, according to Pastor Jones, who said a mutual decision can be made as to where it is distributed.
"The scale of the benevolence work can be seen in the delivery stats: 1 330 breakfasts, 1 560 lunches, 1 410 dinners, 8 010 waters, 5 760 Energade, 4 120 chocolates, 3 550 biscuits, 3 560 chips and 5 670 fruits – a total of 35 026 items," said Jones.
Gratitude was also expressed by NCT for the ‘accurate and factual reporting by the Zululand Observer in keeping the public informed, and ensuring misinformation and fearmongering was countered’.
The scale of the benevolence work can be seen in the delivery stats: 1 330 breakfasts, 1 560 lunches, 1 410 dinners, 8 010 waters, 5 760 Energade, 4 120 chocolates, 3 550 biscuits, 3 560 chips and 5 670 fruits – a total of 35 026 items - Ps Chad Jones