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MASVINGO City Council’s fire brigade department is facing a shortage of fire tenders and skilled firemen, leaving the province exposed in the event of a major disaster, such as fire outbreak or road accident.
The country’s oldest town only has one fire tender out of the required minimum of five fire engines while there are only nine skilled firemen against 16 that are required for normal services.
Masvingo city fire officer Mr Maxwell Chingadza confirmed that council was not well equipped to deal with disasters because of the shortage of equipment and manpower.
“We have one fire tender that is operational at the moment while the other two are undergoing repairs, but we need a minimum of five fire tenders to adequately cover our area in the event of a disaster,” said Mr Chingadza.
“We also have nine skilled firemen yet we require 16 and we do not have uniforms and we use our ordinary clothing when going to work.”
Mr Chingadza said the fire department, which is a critical area for the city, last recruited workers in 2008.
The department, he said, was responsible for a large area of operation stretching into Manicaland to the east, Zvishavane to the west and Beitbridge town to the south.
The city is home to more than 100 000 residents.
City engineer Mr Tawanda Gozo concurred with Mr Chingadza’s sentiments and appealed to Government through the Civil Protection Unit to help buy uniforms and provide more fire fighting equipment.
Mr Gozo, however, applauded the CPU for donating some fire-fighting equipment six months ago.
Online Reporter