The City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to nearly 5 500 incidents between 1 November 2021 and 2 January 2022, including fires, rescues and medical emergencies.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Service attended to 5 396 incidents between 1 November 2021 and 2 January 2022.
Fires accounted for just over 70% of all responses (3 937), the majority being vegetation fires, followed by residential fires.
The remaining incidents included special service calls like Hazmat incidents, medical and trauma calls and 1 058 motor vehicle and pedestrian accidents.
‘It is a heavy workload, and that is why the Fire and Rescue Service forms such a critical element of our festive season safety planning. While the focus is very much on putting out fires, a significant part of their workload also includes responding to trauma and emergency calls, and the occasional rescue of a kitten, as was the case recently. But fires, and vegetation fires in particular, are a major threat over the warmer months, which is why we shore up our defences over this time of year, with aerial support, seasonal resources and an ongoing partnership with other agencies that focus on fighting wildfires,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
Among the additional resources available to the Fire and Rescue Service over the festive season are:
Two helicopters to assist with aerial firefighting where required
120 seasonal firefighters to assist professional fire-fighters with fighting veld fires, and veld-fire management and prevention methods.
21 Learner Firefighters who have completing their training and are now deployed to various fire stations
Rescue Diving units with four rescue rubber ducks and jet ski’s with diving crews are available at Milnerton, Roeland Street, Fish Hoek and Strand fire stations to attend to and assist with diving or sea rescue related incidents should they be called upon
Partnerships with Table Mountain National Park and its affiliates, as well as assistance from the City’s Disaster Risk Management Volunteer Corps
Mutual aid agreements with neighbouring municipalities
‘As usual, fire prevention and mitigation is a shared responsibility. I want to urge the public to report any fire they might witness. Very often, people will see smoke, but not do anything about it. Do not assume that someone else has called it in, unless you can see an emergency response in progress, or on scene. Rather err on the side of caution and report the incident. Quick, decisive action can go a long way in mitigating the extent and impact of a fire. And, the sooner our firefighters are able to extinguish a fire, the sooner we can free up resources for the next call that might come in. If we all keep fire safety top of mind at all times, we can go a long way to mitigating and reducing the risk of fire and its impact,’ added Alderman Smith.
The public can report fires or any other emergency incident to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialling 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline.
The City also has a number of fire safety resources and tips available for wild fires, as well as residential fires, available here: http://bit.ly/3a6olBX
Source: City Of Cape Town