Bulawayo recording 10 fires daily

BULAWAYO has recently been having a sharp increase in fire incidents with the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) saying they are recording between eight to 10 fire calls daily and this has been taking a toll on their firefighting equipment.

Notable fires in the city included a petrol storage tank explosion last Saturday that resulted in a raging fire that reduced several vehicles to shells at a fuel storage depot in Kelvin West industrial area and a fire at a workshop in Mzilikazi last Tuesday where a total of 15 cars were reduced to shells.

A couple of weeks ago, Mutize Flea Market in the city centre was also razed to ashes by a fire with the latest being a grass fire that was reported at an empty space behind Coghlan Primary School on Friday evening.

Responding to questions on the state of the city's fire services department, Bulawayo City Council corporate communications officer Miss Bongiwe Ngwenya revealed that they have been getting between eight and 10 fire calls on a daily basis. She said this was now taking a toll on their equipment as they had no opportunity to carry out necessary servicing.

"The city notes that these fire hose sometimes leak during operations largely due to wear and tear experienced when the Fire Brigade is putting out fires within the city. The major cause of the leaks has been the failure to co-operate by members of the motoring public who drive over hoses charged between 4–10 bars of pressure, making them susceptible to bursts.

"This is despite the fact that the city has hose ramps meant to assist motorists manoeuvre over the fire hose when conducting firefighting. To also prevent leaks, the hoses need to be cleaned and dried after attending to a fire. This has, however, not been possible recently as the brigade is currently attending to an average of 8-10 calls per day due to grass fires," said Miss Ngwenya.

The council spokesperson revealed that the department was also being affected by brain drain, losing 38 qualified firefighters and officers since January this year.

"The Fire Brigade is facing challenges with brain drain due to the economic hardships faced. The city has lost young upcoming firefighters, officers and fire engine drivers making it difficult to close some of the gaps. These were also experienced in practical firefighting. The firefighters have left for Asia, that is Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and they are also leaving for other local companies who pay in foreign currency. The Brigade has lost 38 qualified fire fighters and officers since January 2023," said Miss Ngwenya.

She said Bulawayo Fire and Ambulance Service was known for producing good quality firefighters the world over and they remained proud of some of the fighters from Bulawayo who were now working in the international fire stations and fire services.

"We are appreciative that even as they have left the service, they continue to assist the city in various ways and partnerships and also coming back to train firefighters in the city. One such partnership is the Operation Florian partnership which came about as a result of a former City of Bulawayo firefighter.

"The training from the charity has gone a long way in improving our standards of operation and interpretation of fire issues. Discipline and standard of operations are highly maintained within the Bulawayo Fire and Ambulance Service although being affected by brain drain," said Miss Ngwenya.