New fire station plan for Masi P
Masiphumelele residents will be the primary beneficiaries of a fire station which is being built in the area.
|||Cape Town - Masiphumelele residents will be the primary beneficiaries of a fire station which is being built in the area, and is due to be completed by 2017.
A fire destroyed 1 123 homes, leaving more than 4 000 people destitute on Sunday.
Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said a fire station would be completed by 2017, costing between R12 million and R14m, with another R6m a year set aside to deploy 30 extra firemen.
Resident Sive Twane said: “A new fire station is a good idea, we need one close by. Firefighters take a long time to respond when we have fires here. If we had a dedicated fire station we wouldn’t have lost so much in the fire.”
Twane added that even though the residents were not aware of the development, they would appreciate it.
Community leader Malibongwe Dyasophi said the residents desperately needed a fire station. “Incidents of this magnitude will be avoided if there is a fire station here. Response time will be quick, meaning the number of houses burnt won’t be this high. We would not be in this mess if we had it.”
Smith said: “Total costs of rehabilitation efforts and starter structures should be about R12m. The total cost from the three days will come to R28.9m.”
Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini and Deputy Minister of Human Settlements Zou Kota-Fredericks visited the family of one of the two people who were killed in the fire.
The ministers prayed with the family in their three-roomed flat before handing over groceries and R900.
Thembisa Jerry and her boyfriend, Xolisani Ketse, died in the blaze.
Dlamini said: “We came to the family to pass on our condolences and give them social relief. It’s very painful for them. We said a prayer with the family to show we are with them during their pain.”
She said they had agreed to support the family through “these trying times”.
“We usually provide families in these situations with social relief and an amount of R2 800 for the funeral. It’s not much but it goes a long way.”
Jerry leaves behind three children.
Her eldest daughter, Zizipho Papa, 22, said she still can’t believe her mother is gone.
“I still can’t believe I will never see my mother again. Even when I heard what happened I didn’t believe it; I had to see for myself. We spent a lot of time together. We were like sisters. It is very painful.”
Jerry’s mother, Noncedo Futshane, said they were grateful for the support they had received from the ministers, but more help was needed because they could not afford to bury their daughter.
“The loss of my daughter is very painful and it’s even worse because I don’t know how we are going to bury her. I don’t think what the minister promised us will be enough.”
After visiting the family, the ministers went to assess the damage caused by the fire in order to plan how to further respond to the crisis.
The city council asked residents to hold off on rebuilding their homes so the area could be “re-blocked”.
“About 10 structures have already been built and these will be relocated once the layout is determined,” Smith said.
kalipa.siyabonga@inl.co.za
Cape Argus
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