The spread of wild fires ravaging communities will now be a thing of the past with the newly built Thokoza fire station.
Ekurhuleni’s Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) Vivienne Chauke on Friday handed over a R50 million state-of-the-art fire station to serve the community of Thokoza and Katlehong. It will also respond to the high risk Alrode industrial area, which has potentially flammable petrol depots in the vicinity.
The fire station was constructed over two years and provided employment opportunities for 66 local workers and six local subcontractors. Its continued presence will also contribute to the general upliftment of the Thokoza area.
“The community must protect and defend this facility. We have spent a lot of money to bring development and employment opportunities for the people of Thokoza. It is therefore important that we look after resources that belong to the community,” Chauke said.
The fire station replaces the old, smaller structure which had three fire engines and three ambulances. The new structure is fully equipped with a new water tanker, a major pumper, rescue pumper, medium pumper and four ambulances. There are now five fire engines and four ambulances.
This equipment will enable the fire station to respond faster to emergencies and cover a wider area. The fire station also runs community awareness training programmes to empower citizens on dealing with emergencies and practical steps to take in case of fire. – SAnews.gov.za
