The management of the Trade Route Mall in Lenasia has donated an articulated rescue truck to the City, which will help manage sporadic fire outbreaks in the community.
The Executive Mayor, Councillor Mpho Phalatse, and the MMC for Public Safety, Cllr David Tembe, took delivery of the donation of the truck at the mall south of Joburg on Friday, 25 February.
Cllr Tembe said the donation was the culmination of a public-private partnership initiated by the previous administration.
The Emergency Management Service’s (EMS) Public Information Education and Relations (PIER) division chief, Synock Matobako, said the partnership started as a request to the mall to train the community in firefighting and first aid skills so they can attend to fires while waiting for the City’s fire trucks to respond in case of an emergency.
The truck carries 600 litres of water and has been described as agile. It can easily manoeuvre through congested informal settlements to deal with fire outbreaks. The vehicle can also extinguish non-structural fires. It will be dispatched to any fire emergency within a 10km radius of the Trade Route Mall.
The Executive Mayor, Cllr Phalatse, believes the public-private partnership – through the donation of this fire rescue vehicle – embodies the City’s fruitful relationship with the business community, “with whom we are united in fighting an unprecedented threat to our environment and properties”.
“This is a strategic partnership that will benefit the community of Lenasia,” she said.
MMC Tembe thanked the Trade Route Mall management for donating the fire truck.
“When a fire engine carrying more than 15 000 litres of water goes off-road, it gets stuck. This donation is an answer to all the remote areas where big fire engines cannot reach,” he said.
The vehicle was donated in memory of the late City of Joburg Executive Mayors, Cllr Geoffrey Makhubo and Cllr Jolidee Matongo, who died last year.
“The beauty of democracy is that we acknowledge and honour those who came before us. We will continue to build on their work, and don’t destroy the excellent work they started. That’s how to build a smart city,” Said Cllr Phalatse.
Cllr Tembe concedes the City has a shortage of fire engines.
“Our response time to emergency cases has been inadequate. But with these kinds of partnerships, comprising of fire and rescue vehicles as well as trained emergency personnel, we will be able to respond to emergencies on time.”
Written by Dakalo Ramudidibi
25/02/2022