Latest news with #CityofTshwaneEmergencyServicesDepartment
IOL News
20-07-2025
- General
- IOL News
AfriForum criticises City of Tshwane for neglecting fire safety at municipal sites
The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department raises concerns over fire hazards in Tshwane cemeteries as dry season approaches, urging landowners to adhere to legal guidelines for managing and preventing veld fires. Image: Supplied Civil rights organisation AfriForum has accused the City of Tshwane of failing to maintain municipal sites, including cemeteries, which pose significant fire hazards as the fire season approaches in August. This criticism follows last week's warning by the city to landowners and fire protection associations to comply with key fire prevention regulations in order to prevent, predict, manage, and extinguish veld fires. The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department urged landowners to adhere to the National Veld and Forest Fire Act, enacted in 1998, to provide guidelines for managing and preventing veld fires. Additionally, property owners were informed about the City of Tshwane Fire Brigade Service bylaw, published in 2016, outlining specific rules for fire safety in Tshwane. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Tshwane Emergency Services Department, Lindsay Mnguni said: 'It is common cause that lives are often lost as a result of veld, forest and mountain fires, with rural people suffering enormous damage to their livestock and homesteads during the fire season.' He explained that the fire season is rampant during the dry winter months in Gauteng. "Large-scale losses to the forestry industry are also incurred regularly. However, dangerous and destructive fire incidents remain an existential threat throughout the year," he said. However, AfriForum has slammed the city for applying double safety standards, pressuring private landowners and fire protection associations to comply with fire safety regulations while failing to adhere to the same standards itself. Tarien Cooks, AfriForum's disaster management specialist, said the civil rights organisation fully supports the metro's call to observe relevant fire prevention legislation and regulations. However, she said, the metro must also adhere to legal requirements as well, in order to ensure the safety of people, animals and infrastructure from fire risks. She mentioned that the law outlines that property owners or occupiers must ensure their premises don't pose a fire hazard to neighbouring properties due to overgrown vegetation, such as grass, weeds, reeds, shrubs, or trees. However, she pointed out that the city consistently fails to comply with the same bylaw, despite it applying to the metro as well. AfriForum expressed concern about various cemeteries and other municipal sites, such as open fields and veld strips adjacent to roads in the metro, citing them as serious fire hazards due to poor maintenance. Cooks said: 'Overgrown sidewalks and other overgrown open municipal areas are visible throughout the metro. These strips and areas pose a serious fire hazard, yet the metro is failing to meet this critical responsibility. It is especially essential now, in the dry months and during the upcoming windy August and September period, to maintain these sites according to the prescribed requirements. The metro has a responsibility to practice what they preach and not only hold private landowners accountable for complying with the relevant legislation and bylaws.'
The Citizen
12-07-2025
- General
- The Citizen
Shack fire in Olievenhoutbosch kills family of 5, including 3 children
A devastating shack fire ripped through a home in Olievenhoutbosch Extension 25, Centurion, early yesterday morning, killing a family of five as flames engulfed their dwelling before firefighters could save them. According to Pretoria Rekord, this includes three children aged nine to 16 and a senior citizen. City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department spokesperson Lindsay Zwelithini Mnguni confirms the incident. 'The incident was reported to our Emergency Communication Centre at about 05:04, and firefighting resources were immediately dispatched from Heuweloord Fire Station and Centurion Fire Station to the scene. These included two fire engines and a water tanker.' He says that when firefighters arrived, they found the fire had already destroyed the four-roomed shack dwelling. 'Sadly, five family members, including a senior citizen, one adult and three minors, were fatally burned by the devastating fire. The firefighters continued to extinguish the fire as it was still smouldering.' Mnguni says various role-players, including their fire safety section, disaster risk management section, Gauteng Emergency Medical Services, SAPS, Gauteng Forensic Pathology Services, Gauteng crime prevention wardens and community leaders, were also on scene and worked together to assist with incident management. 'Tshwane Emergency Services Department urges communities to remain vigilant and be cautious during winter to prevent and eliminate incidents of this nature that can have a disastrous effect on families and the community.' To report any fire or rescue incident, members of the public are encouraged to call 107 toll-free or 012 358 6300/6400. He adds that when reporting an emergency, members of the public should remain calm, speak clearly, know where they are to give the correct address, and provide their correct contact number to allow the operator to call back if needed. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
11-07-2025
- General
- The Citizen
Family of five, including three children, killed in Olievenhoutbosch shack fire
Family of five, including three children, killed in Olievenhoutbosch shack fire A devastating shack fire ripped through a home in Olievenhoutbosch Extension 25, early on Friday morning, killing a family of five — including three young children and a senior citizen — as flames engulfed their dwelling before firefighters could save them. This includes three children aged 9 to 16 and a senior citizen. The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department spokesperson Lindsay Zwelithini Mnguni said the incident happened on Friday morning. 'The incident was reported to our Emergency Communication Centre at about 05:04, and firefighting resources were immediately dispatched from Heuweloord Fire Station and Centurion Fire Station to the scene. 'These included two fire engines and a water tanker.' He said on arrival, the firefighters found out that the fire had already destroyed the four-roomed shack dwelling. 'Sadly, five family members, including a senior citizen, one adult and three minors, were fatally burned by the devastating fire. The firefighters continued to extinguish the fire as it was still smouldering completely.' Mnguni said various roleplayers, including their Fire Safety Section, Disaster Risk Management Section, the Gauteng Emergency Medical Services, South African Police Services, Gauteng Forensic Pathology Services, Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens and community leaders, were also on scene and worked together as they assisted with incident management. 'Tshwane Emergency Services Department urges communities to remain vigilant and be cautious during winter to prevent and eliminate incidents of this nature that can have a disastrous effect on families and the community.' To report any fire or rescue incident, members of the public are encouraged to call 107 toll-free or to call 012 358 6300/6400. He added that when reporting an emergency, please remain calm, speak clearly, know where you are to give the correct address, and give your correct contact number to allow the operator to phone you back should they need to do so. Also read: Life-threatening warnings for snow, rain and gale-force winds issued Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to [email protected] or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
04-05-2025
- General
- IOL News
Tshwane honours fallen firefighters on International Firefighters' Day
The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department honours fallen firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty on International Firefighters' Day. Image: Supplied The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department marked International Firefighters' Day by honouring fallen colleagues at a ceremony held at the Kolonnane Retail Park Shopping Mall in Pretoria North. The event paid tribute to four firefighters who lost their lives in separate incidents while serving the community. Department spokesperson Tebogo Maake said two of the firefighters who were honoured lost their lives in specific incidents: one in 2015 while fighting a grass fire in Centurion, and another while rescuing someone from a river. He said the department also honoured rescue technicians who collaborated with SAPS to retrieve the bodies of three constables who recently drowned in the Hennops River. 'Apart from that we were issuing certificates to 38 firefighters that underwent training from being paramedics to firefighters, who attended firefighting courses for a year,'he said. The event included 11 graduates who were officer-trained firefighters, prepared for supervisory roles. The department also showcased various firefighting activities, including rope rescue operations and the unveiling of 11 new vehicles. The department demonstrated vehicle extraction techniques, simulating how to rescue individuals trapped in burned-out vehicles. Maake said: 'Today is International Firefighters' Day, which is acknowledged every year on May 4, and here in Tshwane, we are celebrating our firefighters as the rest of the world is doing.' Tshwane Emergency Services unveils new vehicles during the International Firefighters Day on Sunday in Pretoria North Image: Oupa Mokoena/Indpendent Newspapers One of the firefighters, Tinus Pretorius, 57, said: 'It is a very important day. Firefighters must be acknowledged for the work they are doing and the sacrifice of their lives in danger. They must do it every year for the people to see what the fire department is standing for so that we can be acknowledged.' He began his career as a paramedic practitioner in 1992, but when the Gauteng government took over the ambulances, he and others had to undergo retraining. 'This is a new career and I am looking forward to it,' he said. Firefighter Nomsa Munyai, 44, a supervisory course graduate, paid tribute to fallen colleagues, saying, "We remember them because they died saving lives in the line of duty." She stressed the importance of honoring firefighters who died in the line of duty, saying they deserve recognition for their valuable work in helping the community, and often their role is misunderstood and confused with that of police officers. 'I have a passion and I love saving lives. It is not about money. I believe I am the chosen one for this job,'Munyai said. [email protected]
