Cape Town - With the arrival of the Western Cape fire season, Premier Alan Winde has called on residents of the province to conduct fire assessments of their homes and places of work and thus play their part to prevent fires and save lives.
Winde was speaking after a briefing at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre at Tygerberg Hospital detailing the province’s extensive preparations in place to prevent fires at the Province’s facilities.
“Have you checked your fire extinguisher of late? Do you have a plan, should there be a fire? Please ensure that you have proper protocols in place to evacuate your facility should a fire occur.”
He said detailed planning and investment were critical as the province has around 20 000 fires a year, 90% of which are put out in the first hour.
Also in attendance at the briefing were Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell, Transport and Public Works MEC Daylin Mitchell, Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz, Provincial Director-General Harry Malila, and respective department heads.
During the briefing, it was said that the Province has allocated R41.1 million to municipalities for 60 firefighting vehicles between 2016 to date through the allocation of fire service capacity building conditional grants.
Bredell said the Province took fire season very seriously, and it was reflected in more than R125 million spent since 2011 to combat fires.
“But as with many things in life, prevention is always better than cure, so we urge the public to be responsible with open fires, and to report any fire sightings to the closest authorities as quickly as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile the City has made additional resources available to boost its Fire and Rescue Service’s capacity as part of its festive season and general summer readiness.
Mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith said the City’s Fire and Rescue Services has once again invested in reinforcements for the expected increase in vegetation fires between December and April.
He said about 900 professional firefighters were available for major incidents, working on a three shift rotational system, where between 190 and 230 firefighters are on duty every 24-hour period, 365 days of the year.