Times Of Swaziland: ONLY ONE FIRE TRUCK FOR THE WHOLE OF NORTHERN HHOHHO

ONLY ONE FIRE TRUCK FOR THE WHOLE OF NORTHERN HHOHHO
================================================================================
Joseph Zulu on 12/11/2022 06:53:00


MBABANE – Fire and Emergency personnel are at the brink responding to
emergencies on foot.
This is because only one vehicle is available to service the whole region with a
distance which covers about 80 kilometres. The base for the Northern Hhohho is
Pigg’s Peak which services areas as far as Mananga, Madlangempisi and even
Hawane. Under normal circumstances, the base is supposed to have at least four
vehicles including an ambulance. According to fire emergency personnel who asked
not to be mentioned, one of the engines is large enough to carry at least six
officers. They said the second vehicle was designed to access any form of
terrain, especially in situations where the victims of the fire were far from
the main access roads.
Further, they said the third vehicle was supposed to be used to carry water to
far places. “Not every place has enough water to put out fires so we use
tankers to deliver the water,” they said. The officers said the other vehicle
they did not have was an ambulance. However, they said it was recently fixed
after complaining for several months. They said the challenge now was that the
vehicles had malfunctioned and that they were not being fixed.  They also
expressed concern that since there was only one functional vehicle, it was the
only one being used to transport all the officers. They said that meant that no
vehicle remained at the base whenever there was a fire emergency.
Challenge
Also, they stated that the other the challenge was that they were not able to
respond to some minor emergencies properly due to a lack of vehicles.
An officer who asked not to be mentioned stated that fire engines were not only
being used during fire emergencies. He said they were also used during road
accidents. He said fire personnel were usually the first to attend motor vehicle
accidents. “We cannot go to an accident without an ambulance,” he stated. He
said during a recent situation where two houses burnt at the same time, they
were not able to reach both places. The officer revealed that one house burnt
around Hereford, while the other burnt around Nyakatfo. “These two places are
far apart,” he stated. He stated that though fires were not very common during
the wet season, there were many other emergencies due to flooding. Drowning was
also common during the rainy season according to the fire officer.
*Jomo, who is also a fire and emergency officer said fire emergency personnel
also assisted whenever bridges had been swept away. He said without the
vehicles, it was very difficult to reach victims of these emergencies.  Jomo
also stated that the fire department worked with other emergency personnel such
as the police and medical rescue but that they were also equally struggling with
the lack of vehicles to access certain areas.
Meanwhile, some of the firefighters also expressed concern that they did not
have the right uniforms to fight fires. They said their uniforms were also tight
as they were ordered about two years ago and only delivered recently. “Some of
us now have pot bellies and these uniforms do not fit,” they stated.
Meanwhile, the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) has
been blamed for being too relaxed in such situations. Some Fire and Emergency
officers, who asked not to be mentioned, said while they appreciated the union
for assisting in issues of salary increments and overtime pay, they appeared
relaxed in issues of working tools.
They said the union did not usually follow through on such issues such that the
department became elaxed.  NAPSAWU General Secretary Thulani Hlatshwayo and the
President Oscar Nkambule could not be reached for comment when sought. 
Hlatshwayo’s phone rang unanswered while Nkambule’s was not available on the
network.