Johannesburg - As the City of Joburg reels in shock following the deaths of two firemen in a massive blaze, sources say some of the fire stations in the city do not have fire engines
Two independent sources told The Star on Monday morning that Joburg Central, Roosevelt Park, Berea and Malvern station only had water tankers, no fire engines.
The source, who asked not to be identified, said Brixton fire station had to borrow an engine from Fairview last week.
He said problems started when the city council did not renew the contract it had with Fleet Africa, from whom they were leasing the fire engines.
The contract ended in February. When the fire engines broke down, they were taken to a mechanic in Langlaagte, where they are still parked.
“Fire engines respond to all emergency calls such as medical and motor vehicle accidents. They carry medical bags and rescue equipment; they should be the first ones at the scene.
“If there is a fire, they will put it out, then the water tanker will come with more water if there’s no hydrant. Right now, there is a shortage,” he claimed.
Joburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesman Robert Mulaudzi asked for more time to respond to the allegations.
Fleet Africa was unable to respond as chief executive, Kamogele Mmutlana, was said to be out of the country.
On Monday morning The Star learnt that one of the firefighters who died in a fire in a building in the Joburg CBD on Sunday called one of the crew members and his father on his cellphone before he died.
Michael Letsosa and Dan Zwane worked at the Fairview fire station in Commissioner Street.
It is alleged that a fire engine from Berea fire station should have arrived at the seven-storey Nedbank Mall first, but it broke down on the way there.
Letsosa and Zwane were in the one that arrived first, said SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) deputy regional secretary, Paul Tlhabang.
The fire was caused by a malfunctioning transformer in the basement of the building.
“An oil leak from the transformer resulted in heavy smoke, which impaired their visibility and resulted in Letsosa and Zwane losing each other in the building, then getting lost trying to find their way out. They died from smoke inhalation,” said Tlhabang.
“The way these men died is painful. Letsosa used his cellphone to phone a colleague. When the colleague’s battery went flat, Letsosa called his father and told him there was a problem. He said he was lost in a building full of smoke, couldn’t find his way out and his colleagues couldn’t find him either.”
Tlhabang said a group of firefighters went in to try to rescue the two, but they ran out of air. A second group was sent in and found the men in two different parts of the building.
Tlhabang said this incident could have been avoided.
Workers had been complaining about the lack of proper equipment and staff shortages. But the city manager had been avoiding meeting with Samwu, he said.
The Star