The  City of Joburg has committed itself to honouring some of its fallen firefighting heroes, whose names will soon be displayed on the walls of the newly-built Central Fire Station.

The new fire station, built at a cost of more than R71 million, was unveiled by Mayor Dada Morero, alongside his Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku on Thursday.

“We will be honouring some of our fallen heroes, whose names will soon be displayed on the walls of this state-of-the-art facility,” Tshwaku stated.

Both Morero and Tshwaku welcomed the completion of the Johannesburg Central Fire Station, which was handed over to the Department of Emergency Services, more than four years after construction began.

Over the years, the city has battled a series of fire incidents, including the tragedy that engulfed the Usindiso building, where 76 people died in August 2023.

Tshwaku said through the unveiling of the new facility, the city was in a way responding to the recommendations made by the Usindiso building Commission of Inquiry, which blamed the fire on failing firefighting infrastructure.

Officially known as the Khampepe commission, the inquiry was established by Premier Panyaza Lesufi as part of the province’s commitment to investigate the cause of the Usindiso building fire and the prevalence of hijacked buildings in the city. 

The commission, whose report was recently handed over to the Premier, discovered that emergency exits on most floors of the hijacked building had been barricaded, trapping many sleeping residents.

“Through this state-of-the-art facility, we are responding to the findings of the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry. Now we have a new fleet of 15 fire engines, with only nine of the fleet present here,” Tshwaku said.

During his address, Morero said the city, working together with all its MMCs and departments, has shown that it has the capacity to improve the quality and life of its citizens.

“We have shown that if we work together, we have the capacity to turn the city around and improve the lives of our citizens. The economic turnaround also shows that we can protect and maintain our investments,” the mayor said.

Morero also honoured the men and women who have died while in the line of duty.

“We acknowledge firefighters who perished in the line of duty. Unfortunately, you died in your course of serving the people of our country,” he said. 

The facility was constructed with the help of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) and the Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Management Services (EMS), who jointly embarked on the development of the new Central Fire Station.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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