Firefighter urges municipalities to prioritise fire safety to prevent another uSindiso building fire
The commission looking into the fire that claimed the lives of 76 people resumed on Tuesday after it was postponed multiple times.
FILE: Marshalltown Commission of Inquiry chairperson, Justice Sisi Khampepe, listens to testimony on 20 December 2023. Picture: Alpha Ramushwana/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - Firefighter Wyand Engelbrecht is calling on municipalities to prioritise fire safety to prevent another uSindiso building tragedy.
The commission looking into the fire that claimed the lives of 76 people resumed on Tuesday after it was postponed multiple times.
Engelbrecht gave his testimony to the commission, raising concern over the limited resources that were available to respond to the fire.
As the inquiry into the uSindiso fire resumes, fire safety in the city took the spotlight.
Engelbrecht said that the shortage of fire trucks posed a serious risk, as officials could not respond to emergencies timeously.
He said the issue was different from the number of firefighters employed by the city but the ability to respond to emergencies.
The firefighter said this was not just an issue in the City of Johannesburg.
"The condition of that building is similar to that of hundreds of other such buildings in the city or elsewhere in the country. The profile is that of neglect."
He is urging different cities to enforce their own bylaws to prevent such tragedies from happening again.