£56 000 for fire equipment repairs

from Britain to repair specialised fire equipment that has been lying idle for the past 10 years.
The equipment worth US$4,5 million is being resuscitated with the assistance of fire engineers from GB Fire Limited – United Kingdom.
The spare parts were procured in 2006 and have been gathering dust in the city’s workshops following the failure by council to raise funds to pay the engineers to come and service the equipment.
Out of a requirement of 12 fire tenders only five are operating on a limited basis.
Harare chief fire officer, Mr Sevias Mugavha, last Tuesday confirmed the city’s new-found capacity to deal with fires in high rise buildings but decried its lack of capacity to effectively deal with general fires.
“The spare parts have been here since 2006. We could not fix the equipment because we could not raise funds for labour and airfares,” he said.
Mr Mugavha said the engineers managed to repair three computerised turntable ladders that are mounted on two of the vehicles, which are fairly very new.
The hydraulic system of the fourth vehicle was also attended to. All the vehicles were serviced.
“Right now the city is adequately prepared to deal with fires or emergencies that may occur in high rise buildings,” said Mr Mugavha.
One of the biggest turntables can be stretched for up to 44 metres with the other three having capacity of 37, 31.5 and 30 metres respectively.
Mr Mugavha, however, said that Government should champion the acquisition of fire tenders in the same manner it did in 1990 when the country procured 59 such equipment that was distributed to local authorities.
“We need brand new fire tenders. This has to be a Government project. The 1990 purchases were a Government project. It was excellent,” he said.
Since 1990 not a single fire tender has been bought with Harare relying on donations of previously used equipment.
On average the city attends to four building fires in a day, suggesting the high importance that should be attached to the procurement of the equipment.
Mr Mugavha highlighted that Harare fire brigade attends to fires in buildings and road traffic accidents as far as Chivhu, Chinhoyi, Headlands, Bindura and Nyamapanda.
He urged residents to report fires on the following numbers: (04) 783981-4.
City spokesman Mr Leslie Gwindi said the repairs were a positive step towards enabling the city to deal with emergencies.