Cape Town - The smoke detectors installed in Wallacedene Temporary Relocation Area (TRA) informal settlement are doing their job and have saved one life already.
Community leader Thembelane Mzola who was trained by Western Cape Government Disaster Risk Management Fire and Rescue specialists and University of Stellenbosch Engineering Department specialists to install and maintain the photoelectric smoke detectors said the number of fires had dropped this winter.
Mzola said there had been 20 fires in the settlement last winter and one little boy was badly burnt when plastic melted into his skin.
There was only one fire this winter, where neighbours heard the alarm and were able to break down their friend’s door and dragged him to safety from his burning bed. They were then able to collapse the structure, extinguishing the fire and preventing its spread.
“Some people complained at first but people don’t know until they see what is happening, that the detectors save people’s lives and keeps their houses from being burnt,” said Mzola.
He said the community members who were trained to install and maintain the detectors and who are paid a small stipend by the Western Cape government, inspect the detectors regularly with the university specialists, who are engaged in ongoing research.
Rodney Eksteen, assistant director at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre said: “We believe that photoelectric smoke detection technology engineered into a self-contained device with a silence feature and long life battery with a 10 year lifespan will certainly alert occupants of a fire and provide the necessary time to escape, three minutes max. Seventy percent of all fire deaths in the Western Cape occur during the sleeping hours.”
Eksteen said the devices were installed in bedrooms, as far away as possible from cooking areas, which could trigger them.
So far, 5 000 smoke detectors had been installed in informal settlements and other vulnerable facilities in the Western Cape.
More than 1 200 devices had been installed at the Wallacedene TRA and with the assistance of the private sector and the university. It was hoped the detectors could be rolled out to more vulnerable communities, despite budgetary constraints, Eksteen said.
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC, Anton Bredell said: “For too long too little has been done to proactively tackle the scourge of fires in our informal communities and many lives and lots of property has been destroyed. The goal of this project is to install smoke alarms in our vulnerable communities that will wake people up before it’s too late.
"In Wallacedene since the pilot programme was rolled out and excluding the latest activation, there have been two other activations that led to successful interventions preventing certain fires and possible injuries.
"In addition, these activations have arguably saved many lives and homes due to the prevention of fire spread to other dwellings,” Bredell said.