The Fire brigade is being criticised for what some say were serious shortcomings in its response to the fire which destroyed a section of Spar and a bookshop at Game City mall last Monday.
Those who watched the horrific tragedy unfold in real time claim that although the fire brigade eventually put out the flames, they arrived much later than expected. Even worse, footage on Facebook indicates that several of the fire trucks were operating at very low pressure.
Citizens quickly took to social media to vent their disappointment. “These types of fire engines sometimes disappoint. The pressure from the fire engine is just too low to fight the fire of this size,” Morebofi Ontebetse posted on Facebook.
Another individual by the name of Sifu Bollen made a similar observation. He declared that “we seriously need to crowdfund our firefighting station to buy better vehicles which shoot water like those at airport. The performance at Game city today was something. Perhaps this is an insult, but i can do better than what i saw. Sending water truck connecting hose after an hour…..then ordinary pressure for 20minutes and getting better pressure after 20. All personnel running to get situational report, instead of some connecting hoses…whilst fire is ravaging and now spreading to Spar”.
Although it may take some time for the official report to be made public, unverified reports suggest that the fire began in the Spar bakery section before quickly moving to other areas of the store.
Despite the fire having started mid-afternoon on Monday, smoke could still be seen billowing from the destroyed structures sometime around 9pm. Although the local fire-fighters have received praise for their bravery, the fire department has come under scrutiny for how it handled the incident.
This is not the first time the fire department has received criticism. Concerns have already been raised in parliament about whether some of the fire brigade units are equipped adequately to deal with fire risks. In addition, questions have been made concerning the trucks used by the fire brigade and their suitability.
While answers will be sought in the following days and weeks, worries are being raised whether the fire department will be able to quickly extinguish flames in a high-rise structure. Despite the substantial damage on the building structure at Game city mall, there have been no reports of casualties or injuries. Investigations regarding the cause of the fire are presently underway.
