Siyavuya Mzantsi
FIREFIGHTERS have been forced to withdraw from 17 emergencies over the past year after being pelted with stones, held at knifepoint and having their equipment taken while responding to calls.
The City says there has been an increase in the number of attacks on firefighters and infrastructure in the past six months.
According to Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith, most attacks took place in Masiphumelele informal settlement near Fish Hoek and Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, where firefighters have had fire hoses cut or taken at knifepoint and had objects thrown at them, including stones.
Smith said other incidents reported since January were in Klipheuwel, Khayelitsha, Retreat, Vrygrond, Dunoon, Elsies River, Manenberg and Nyanga.
However, Masiphumelele community leader Tshepo Moletsane said there had been no firefighting crews that had been physically attacked while responding to emergencies in the area.
“Remember the (municipal) elections are fast approaching so we will hear of these kind of things quite often. There have been no such things as far as I am aware. I know of most fire incidents that took place and not a single firefighter was attacked,” he said.
He said residents would, on some occasions, shout at firefighters out of frustration because they took their time to arrive.
Smith said one of the most recent instances was in November, when firefighters came under attack while responding to a fire in the Siqalo informal settlement near Mitchells Plain. He said four shacks had caught fire when firefighters arrived, but the delay due to the attack resulted in 15 structures being destroyed.
Several firefighting vehicles were damaged as protesters vandalised the building and allegedly threatened firefighters on duty in Mfuleni earlier this month. Operational staff had to be moved to Belhar.
Mfuleni resident Thembile George said: “We want them (firefighters) back in our community again. The people who are behind the attacks were people who were doing their own thing, not protesters. Firefighters are helpful in other matters that are not related to their job.”
A firefighter was struck by a stone and suffered a shoulder injury as they were responding after vehicles were set alight during a protest sparked by the funeral of an alleged gang member in Elsies River last month.
Smith appealed to communities to show restraint and highlight their grievances without resorting to violence.
“Organising armed escorts for firefighters who are under threat in volatile situations or areas means that we are pulling crime-fighting re-sources from areas where they’re needed most and creating an enforcement deficit.”
He said damaged vehicles and injured firefighters meant there were fewer resources to respond to fires.
“When we have to close a fire station… as a result of damage or threats to staff, it delays the response to any incidents that occur during that closure when resources have to be dispatched from other areas,” he said.