No smoke without a fire
CAPE TOWN recently witnessed an unprecedented outpouring of love and support for her firefighters, hailed as courageous heroes for putting out a massive fire that stretched from one corner of the Peninsula to another, destroying thousands of hectares of fynbos.
There was so much material support they had to call on people to stop.
The grateful Capetonians’ hearts would have been touched by the deaths of two Johannesburg firefighters in the inner city after a massive blaze on Saturday night.
Yet the story should have been so different. Instead of revealing the details of what must have been agonising final moments for the two men, we should have instead been telling the tale of their courage. And indeed, courage was at the centre of the tragedy that unfolded in a seven-storey building.
However, it appears that the deaths might have been averted had the two firefighters had sufficient equipment and support on the ground. It’s important to note that the City of Johannesburg has issued denials, saying reports suggesting the teams on the scene were underequipped and understaffed are incorrect.
But we find it difficult to believe that every report covering the incident is wrong, and that the two professionals might have died anyway – even with the requisite back-up.
The South African Municipal Workers Union, in particular, has said that shortages on the part of the Emergency Management Services could have played a fatal role.
Firefighters have warned about poor working conditions before, citing basic needs such as oxygen masks not being provided. And we hear a familiar ring to the cry for more fire engines, with a report on Saturday night’s incident saying that one of the vehicles sent to the scene broke down before it got there. It’s disturbing, to say the least. Perhaps these two deaths will not be in vain, since the authorities are now very much aware of their firefighting abilities. We certainly hope the two men will be properly honoured by immediate improvements for their esteemed colleagues.