In a unified display of humanity, on 18 March, community members and Democratic Alliance (DA) Ward 5 Branch members who were conducting a door to door campaign in Orange Farm Ext 8a noticed a house on fire and rushed to assist extinguish it.
DA PR Councillor, Nonhlanhla Sifumba, called Joburg EMS Fire Department for assistance. They arrived within minutes to assist, which is commendable as communities wait longer than an hour or more before both ambulance and Fire Department services arrive.
Sifumba told Orange Farm News: “Our luck laid on the fact that EMS officers were passing along the area when the call was logged. It must be noted that there are major challenges within the department which has a shortage of fire trucks and it normally takes them hours to get to a place where there is a call for help. With this in mind, we call upon the Public Safety MMC in the City of Johannesburg to urgently address this anomaly and utilise the available budgets for that function to ease the response time to such incidents. ”
DA branch members and residents were grateful that they were able to promptly assist before any injuries or deaths occurred. Although the mother and son who stay at the house did not sustain any injuries they lost all their belongings.
Sifumba added: “I also called the Regional Director to activate the Disaster Management Department to come and assess the situation and provide necessary assistance. After assessment, the team said the fire occurred when the electricity was restored after loadshedding. The Disaster Management Department provided mattresses, blankets, shawls and a food parcel to the family.”
Sifumba said that they would appreciate any donations from local businesses and others to help the family reconstruct their home. To assist, please call Sifumba on 082 925 7496.
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