Shortcomings in the enforcement and the monitoring of fire control mechanisms, such as firebreaks in informal settlements, were acknowledged by the Western Cape government on Wednesday.
This followed a devastating fire at Cape Town’s Joe Slovo settlement on Saturday which left 12 000 people homeless and caused the death of an infant.
”We need to be proactive, so that when a fire breaks out and it spreads to 200 or 300 shacks, it can be minimised,” said premier Ebrahim Rasool, flanked by most of his Cabinet at press conference in Langa.
He said the fire was a ”defining moment, a moment of resolve” and not of blame.
The Western Cape Cabinet on Wednesday agreed to enforce the three-metre firebreak rule for informal settlements, piloted in the Joe Slovo settlement after a fire in 2 000 destroyed about 900 shacks.
With such a high density of shacks, authorities may not be able to provide a firebreak between each row of homes. However, it was envisaged that every block of dwellings should have a firebreak.
Rasool said fire hydrants would be inspected by municipal police officers.
From April 2004 to January 18 this year there were an estimated 376 disasters, both floods and fires, in the Western Cape.
These disasters resulted in 45 fatalities, affected 12 351 families, displaced 52 283 people and cost provincial authorities tens of millions of rand.
The disasters, natural and preventable, occurred across the region, from the poorer parts of the city to rural areas such as Grabouw, Clanwilliam, Khayamandi, De Doorns, Doringbaai, Bredasdorp and areas in the Southern Cape.
Reviewing government’s responses to Saturday’s fire at the Joe Slovo settlement in Langa, Rasool said the Cabinet agreed that ”rapid, integrated intervention” of the province, city and other partners was the correct approach.
This intervention saw helicopters being used for the first time to fight urban fires.
Turning to the ongoing drought-like conditions in the Western Cape, Rasool said the province would approach President Thabo Mbeki to declare affected areas as disaster areas.
This would help free an additional R26-million to be used in supplementing livestock feed.
”[We] appeal to farmers not to panic… and drive farm workers off the farms,” said Rasool.
The Cabinet also agreed to allocate R2-million for an urgent investigation into alternative water sources, including the evaluation of desalination and other aquifers, as a response to the impact that climate change and global warming was having on the province. – Sapa