Fire tender brings relief to rural Marondera community

Victor Maphosa

Mashonaland East Bureau

MARONDERA Rural District Council has taken delivery of a state-of-the-art fire tender from Government.

This is part of the Second Republic’s initiative aimed at capacitating all local authorities so that their operations are in sync with the “Call to Action, No Compromise to Service Delivery” blue print as enunciated by President Mnangagwa.

Home to tobacco farmers, elite schools like Peterhouse and Watershed as well as hosting the critical fuel pipeline from Mozambique, Marondera district is always witnessing a lot of fires which require a fire tender on call to minimise damage.

The busy Harare-Mutare highway is also another critical area where the fire tender will be on call as a rescue tender for road traffic accidents.

Yesterday, council officials took time to drive the fire tender across the district to notify rate payers of the new equipment as well as educating them on its functions.

The Herald caught up with the officials at the popular Two Boy business centre before they proceeded to Masomera Business Centre, demonstrating how the huge machine works.

In an interview with The Herald, acting chief executive officer for Marondera Rural District Council Mr Robson Mungure said council was grateful to Government for the fire tender.

“As the Marondera RDC, we are one of the recipients of the fire tenders procured by Government and we are grateful to central Government for this. This will go a long way in enhancing our capacity response to emergency services.

“We are there to ensure public safety through providing emergency services to the communities which we serve and the fire tender will go a long way in delivering that service. As Marondera RDC, we have farmers, we have schools, busy roads, especially the Harare-Mutare highway as well as the Feruka pipe line and this fire tender will come in handy in cases of fire.

“So we are grateful to the Government’s commitment in capacitating local authorities. This will assist us in improving our service delivery to the people we serve,” he said.

The officials were also encouraging residents to urgently notify them of any fires in their areas for swift reaction and immediate assistance.

Residents acknowledged the work by council and applauded Government for always prioritising their safety in times of disasters.

“This equipment is a critical tool in the fight against veld fires. In fact, there are always fire outbreaks where some accidents occur and lives are lost because there will be no immediate assistance. There was nothing we could do if a huge fire incident occurred because it was dangerous to try to put it out, but with this fire tender, we can easily overcome that obstacle.

“Even in a road traffic accident, some people end up dying when they are trapped inside a vehicle. So we are thankful to our Government for this. We are grateful to council for bringing this equipment to the people. This will go a long way in making people aware of its services and how to access them,” Mr Fredrick Makokove from Masomera said.

Mrs Tamari Nhawu from Village 14 which is near Two Boy Business Centre said she once lost a tobacco curing barn due to an inferno.

“I watched it being reduced to ashes, I could not do anything because there was no fire tender to summon. But now we have one under our local authority, we are happy as farmers. We have been given hope.”