Ekurhuleni Fire Safety said to improve after DA intervention
Media Statement by Ald. Jaco Terblanche, DA Spokesperson for Community Safety
Date: 29 January 2024
Release: Immediate
Type: Press Statement
In the Extraordinary Council Meeting on the 25th of January 2024, the Democratic Alliance (DA) submitted a motion seeking to prevent a disaster by improving fire safety in the City of Ekurhuleni. The motion was duly accepted in Council with minimal amendments.
In the motion, the DA raised concerns about the low number of fire stations in the City of Ekurhuleni which is inadequate to service its over 1.4 million residents. The City is legally required to have 65 fire stations.The City currently has 30 functional fire stations. We therefore only have 46% of the legally required fire stations.
According to the South African National Standards (10090), the minimum number of personnel required for all the CoE fire stations should be 1160 however, there are only 728 firefighters, resulting in a 37% shortfall. There are currently over 148 vacant funded positions across all Fire Stations.
Each of the 30 Fire Stations in the City should have at least 1 working fire vehicle. However, only 40/150 fire vehicles are operational. 21 of the 30 fire stations in the City do not have adequate vehicles to respond to an emergency in the event of a fire. Of these 40 operational vehicles, only 18 are either a water tanker or a major/ rescue pump. The City only has 1 working aerial fire apparatus truck (ladder truck) to perform an emergency fire rescue on a high-rise building.
The approval of the DA’s motion will see the prioritization of the completion of the Katlehong and Etwatwa Fire Stations by ensuring that adequate project management takes place.The Albertina Sisulu Corridor Fire Station was marred by contractor payment and project management issues which severely impacted its completion and its final cost to the City.
Funding must now be made available in the upcoming adjustment budget to replace or repair the faulty trucks, strategically allocate the last available 18 water tankers/ major/ rescue pump trucks to fire stations, and prioritise filling vacant position.
Our efforts in fixing the City’s emergency service are beginning to pay off. The biggest victors in this motion are our residents, who can now rest assured knowing that the City will improve its response to fire disasters and emergencies.
Please find a list of the worst impacted fire stations below:
o Zonkizizwe — 0/4 Operational fire vehicles
o Wadeville — 0/6 Operational fire vehicles.
o Vosloorus — 0/3 Operational fire vehicles
o Katlehong — 0/3 Operational fire vehicles
o Olifantsfontein — 0/3 Operational fire vehicles
o Albertina Sisulu — 0/4 Operational fire vehicles
o Etwatwa — 0/4 Operational fire vehicles
o Benoni — 0/4 Operational fire vehicles
o Duduza — 0/4 Operational fire vehicles
o Boksburg Central — 0/5 Operational fire vehicles
o Nigel — 0/5 fire vehicles
o Kempton Park — 0/6 Operational fire vehicles
o Germiston Central — 1/4 Operational fire vehicles
o Rynfield — 1/4 Operational fire vehicles
o Daveyton — 1/4 Operational fire vehicles
o Commercia — 1/5 Operational fire vehicles
o Brakpan — 1/5 Operational fire vehicles
o Edenvale — 1/6 Operational fire vehicles
o Tsakane — 1/6 Operational fire vehicles
o Tembisa — 2/5 Operational fire vehicles
o Springs — 2/8 Operational fire vehicles
Media Enquiries
Ald. Jaco Terblanche
DA Spokesperson for Community Safety, Ekurhuleni
078 005 7054
