City of Joburg takes delivery of another five EMS vehicles and launches new 107 emergency number
6 November 2019
Today, 6 November 2019, I was joined by the Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba and the MMC for Group Corporate and Shared Service, Cllr Ntombi Khumalo, as the City of Johannesburg took delivery of another five new Emergency Management Services (EMS) fire and rescue vehicles as per the on-going EMS Fleet Renewal Program.
This in conjunction with the launch of the new 107 Joburg emergency number.
Two Air trucks, two Level 2 Incident Command Vehicles and one Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Unit were handed over to the City at the Florida Fire Station in Roodepoort.
The air trucks are used to refill breathing apparatus used by fire fighters. This is vital equipment as the scene of a fire.
The two Level Two Incident Command Vehicles are fitted with state-of-the-art technology and surveillance equipment and is used as a mobile command centre when dealing with emergencies. The Incident Command Vehicles have connectivity to the Department of Public Safety’s Integrated Intelligent Operation Centre (IIOC), the main nerve centre when dealing with emergencies.
The Hazmat Unit has specialised equipment to attend to chemical and other hazardous material related emergencies. This unit is also able to discharge foam in case of a chemical fire.
This latest delivery brings the total of new fire vehicles delivered to the City to date to 20. Furthermore, the City is expecting another delivery of six medium pumpers and two industrial pumpers by the end of November.
Our efforts in fixing the City’s emergency service is beginning to pay off. These much needed fire vehicles are symbolic of the determination we have as a government to fix what is wrong and continue improve going forward.
We want to urge the residents to help us to protect these important lifesaving vehicles. For as long as we work together and take care of our own resources, these fire vehicles will deliver change to our residents. These vehicles will also enable our fire fighters to respond to emergencies faster.
Furthermore, the new 107 emergency number will be the only number Joburg residents need to remember and call in a case of emergency in future.
The 107 number is currently operational and will be routed to the City’s Public Safety Call Centre for all emergencies. The 10177 and (011) 375 5911 numbers will still function. It is the Department's plan to gradually phase into the 107 number by the end of January 2020.
The Gauteng Provincial Department of Health will continue using the 112 and 10177 emergency numbers to offer resident's emergency assistance.
However the City of Johannesburg will use 107 for both EMS and JMPD related emergencies.
This consolidation project will simplify how residents reach the City in case of emergencies.
Issued by Luyanda Longwe, Stakeholder Manager: MMC for Public Safety, 6 November 2019
