ONLY ONE FIRE TRUCK FOR THE WHOLE OF NORTHERN HHOHHO

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.

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