Malcolm Midgely, spokesperson for the Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, at the launch of the City's Winter Safety Campaign in Slovo Park (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)

RELATED LINKS: Foam bombs for fighting shack fires A NEW approach to dealing with runaway shack fires is being tested by Working on Fire. The foam bombs, dropped from fixed-wing aircraft, stop oxygen from getting to the fires, so helping firefighters on the ground get to the shacks. Read more Learning to fight fires - and save lives THE City's Emergency Management Services has set up a unique training programme for budding fire fighters and other rescue personnel. Read more Volunteers learn to fight shack fires VOLUNTEERS have been trained to fight fires in informal settlements by the City's emergency management services. Read more About Emergency Management Services EMS operates a disaster management centre; helps communities and the City to prevent disasters or minimise the impact of disasters; enforces by-laws and codes and responds to medical, fire and rescue incidents. Read more

The informal settlement of Slovo Park, west of Johannesburg (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)

The water tank is used to combat fires (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)

City launches Winter Safety campaign The City's emergency management services have launched a three-month campaign to teach residents of informal settlements about the dangers of fire. May 31, 2006 By Ndaba Dlamini FROM a vantage point, the informal settlement of Slovo Park, west of Johannesburg, looks like a continuous mass of metal sheets. At the edge of the settlement are the charred remains of a burnt tree. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of about 89 informal settlements in the City of Johannesburg. As you can see from this point, there is no distinct separation between the shacks and this proves a great danger if a fire breaks out," said Malcolm Midgely, spokesperson for the Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS). Midgely was speaking at the launch of the City's Winter Safety Campaign on Wednesday, 31 May. The campaign, aimed at educating residents on the safe use of matches, candles, paraffin and gas stoves to "avoid a blaze", will run for the next three months, according to the City's spokesperson, Nthatisi Modingoane. "During winter people want to keep warm, and children are especially vulnerable if not supervised or educated about these dangers." Papa Q teaches the young Because children are particularly at risk, the City is determined to capture their imagination - and attention. The cartoon character Papa Q will teach the young about handling candles and paraffin with care and about the danger of playing with matches. "Papa Q will speak to millions of children in Johannesburg through the airwaves and newspapers, giving plenty of friendly advice that could save a life," added Modingoane. The campaign will also teach people how to keep warm in icy temperatures. "With temperatures dropping fast this winter, the campaign is also aimed at helping people ward off hypothermia, with advice on how sleeping with a sack in bed or walking with newspaper in the shoes can save a life." Tucked in between the suburbs of Coronationville and Crosby, Slovo Park has been the site of several fires devastating fires. In 2004 a fire destroyed a thousand homes, leaving thousands homeless. After this residents were encouraged to build a firebreak wide enough to accommodate fire trucks. "Residents were also encouraged to build gaps between each shack - but as you can see, there are so many shacks cramped within a very small piece of land that it becomes difficult to for people to leave the stipulated three-metre space between each shack," said Midgely. There is no electricity in the township. "A lack of electricity means that people tend to use easily combustible substances like paraffin and gas," Midgely said. "Members of the EMS's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) visit the settlement regularly to teach residents how to handle these substances and how to prevent and fight fires," he added. Communal taps are dotted on every corner of the settlement while a water tank surrounded by razor wire rears up above the shacks on the "main street". Midgely says it is one of two 600-litre water tanks donated by Impala Platinum Mines to fight fires in Slovo Park. Some residents have been trained how to operate the water tank. The EMS is running a number of education programmes to teach the people of Slovo Park, and other informal settlements, how to prevent fires. "There is the 'Stay alive until we arrive' campaign where people are taught how to contain fires until the fire department arrives at the scene, and the 'Learn not to burn' programme which teaches children about the hazards of fire." "We also urge people not to build shacks on top of fire hydrants as this causes problems when fire fighters want to use them during a fire," Midgely said. During a tour of the settlement Midgely points out various fire hazards. On top of a shack are an assortment of material, tyres, plastic bottles, shoes and various gadgets. "We hope this campaign will go a long way in saving lives," he said. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page Send an online postcard E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za