There is not one fully operational fire truck to fight a fire in any of the six towns and their townships, the adjacent squatter camps, or even the informal settlements in the 5 155 km² in which the 36 wards of Matjhabeng Local Municipality fall.
During an oversight visit on Saturday (16/07), councillors Igor Scheurkogel and Abby Schoeman established that there is only one fire truck but not fully operational.
“We also saw that the fire department does not have specialised equipment like the jaws of life to attend to vehicle accidents,” says Scheurkogel.
The entire Matjhabeng Municipality with its more than 406 000 residents is solely reliant on Welkom’s fire station when a fire emergency happens.
“The Matjhabeng Fire Department can only extinguish small fires with the water tankers, or they can use working water valves, if there are any, near the fire,” he says.
Another big problem is that a fire in one of the squatter areas will cause major problems because none of these areas have running water, nor a fire hydrant.
During the visit the control room telephone was operational. But during various electricity outages in the past, the phones have not been operational.
All six towns in Matjhabeng have a fire department, but these are not equipped with the necessary trucks or other equipment to extinguish fires or attend to road accidents.
The towns are all solely reliant on Welkom, with its one vehicle to assist them, and Welkom will not be able to help any resident if there are any big emergencies in different places, says Scheurkogel.
“We are very concerned about the safety of the Matjhabeng residents and will approach the administration to attend to this matter urgently. The DA in Matjhabeng will also request that the Free State Provincial Government urgently intervenes.”
- Khojane Matutle, Matjhabeng spokesperson, says they have prioritised the repair of the aging fleet, which is prone to breakdown. There are three fire trucks and four skit units, of which only one unit is operational.
The municipality has paid for an additional fire truck at a cost of R2,9 million. They are waiting for a loan truck, while the new one is built.
