Nelson Mandela Bay’s inadequate fire response time endangers lives and property, report finds

The Nelson Mandela Bay metro does not meet the national standard response time for fire incidents due to a shortage of fire engines and a lack of resources, placing the lives of residents at risk, a recent report found.

The national standard response time after a fire has been reported is set at 15 minutes for urban areas and 40 minutes for rural areas. But in the Bay’s urban zone, it takes officials from the safety and security department’s fire unit more than 20 minutes and sometimes up to 40 minutes to respond.

The report recommended that the metro establish three new fire stations, in Kuyga, Despatch and Colchester, with R61.9-million required to begin the project, which will be undertaken in phases.

An item regarding the matter was rejected during Wednesday’s Mayoral Committee (Mayco) meeting, which proposed that acting City Manager Lonwabo Ngoqo, Chief Financial Officer Jackson Ngcelwane, and the acting executive director for safety and security, Shadrack Sibiya, seek funding for the project.

Mayco members were unhappy that the report, commissioned by the metro, indicated that funding for the project must come from the budget for the current financial year, despite it not being planned for.

“The purpose of this report is to request the committee to approve the securing of funding for the construction, equipping and staffing of these new facilities to enhance emergency response capabilities across all regions of the municipality,” reads the report.

Public safety

“The primary objective of constructing additional fire stations in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro is to improve public safety by ensuring faster and more effective responses to fires and other emergencies.

“Strategically located fire stations help mitigate the impact by reducing response times and controlling fire outbreaks more efficiently.”

The fire stations will play an important role in preventing the spread of fires and protecting lives and property. They will provide rescue services during emergencies such as vehicle accidents, collapsed buildings and environmental disasters.

“It must be noted that the budget for the requirement of R61.9-million is not within the council-approved budget, requiring that the directorate sacrifice the equivalent amount within the approved budget,” states the report.

“We must also be aware that council is not allowed to increase rates and taxes in the middle of the financial year, meaning that if the directorate requires this item to be funded as a permanent feature in the budget, a permanent funding source will be required, which may also include a property rates increase.”

The report reflects the number of fire incidents and the average response times in three areas over the past five years:

• Booysens Park and surrounds: 2,509 incidents and an average response time of 20.08 minutes;
• Despatch and surrounds: 842 incidents and an average response time of 20.48 minutes; and
• Colchester and surrounds: 18 incidents and an average response time of 38.12 minutes.

The MMC for safety and security, Luyanda Lawu, said all the items that required funding were denied due to budgetary constraints.

In addition, he said, “It was recommended that Ngoqo, Ngcelwane and Sibiya get together to iron out issues highlighted by Mayco members, including the manner in which the item is drafted, which has several errors that need to be corrected in terms of the policies.

“Mayco directed that they fix the issues and source funding for the project and bring back the item in the first Mayco meeting in January 2026.”

Lawu said the municipality couldn’t find so much money in the current fiscus for a project that had not been budgeted for.

The municipality plans to allocate funds to begin the project in the next financial year, aiming to construct at least one fire station and to continue this effort in subsequent financial years until the project is completed.

‘Burnt to ashes’

“This item came about because, as the municipality, we don’t comply with the national standard response time,” said Lawu.

“A fire engine travelling from Motherwell to service Colchester will definitely arrive after the required response time. The shortage of fire trucks also plays a huge role in this; hence, we need the budget to procure additional ones.

“The Khayamnandi side of Despatch is serviced by the Cuyler fire station in Kariega; they get to the area within 20 to 30 minutes, and by that time a house will have already burnt to ashes.”

Lawu said this meant the municipality was not compliant with the national call-out standard and that if the municipality were to be sued, it would end up paying more than it would have to build the fire stations.

At a provincial level, the situation is even more dire. Vicky Knoetze (DA), a member of the Eastern Cape provincial legislature, said the Eastern Cape government had only 53 working fire engines compared to the 168 required by basic safety standards.

“Three years ago, the DA warned that the provincial government was woefully unprepared for disasters,” said Knoetze.

“The province is entering one of the most dangerous periods of the year, when the risk of fires, floods, and motor vehicle accidents increases, with a provincial firefighting system that has steadily deteriorated year on year.”

Knoetze demanded an urgent province-wide emergency plan to restore firefighting capacity and ensure that every community has access to a functional and roadworthy fleet.

“Instead of closing the gap, the provincial fleet has collapsed even further. In response to parliamentary questions from the DA, Cogta MEC Zolile Williams confirmed that the province has 71 fire trucks, but only 53 are roadworthy, and just 50 are functional.

“This is 18 fewer than in 2022, despite repeated warnings and rising disaster risks.” Knoetze said fire trucks did far more than extinguish fires.

“They are essential for flood response, road accidents, hazardous incidents and rescue operations. When these vehicles are broken or unavailable, entire communities are left without the frontline protection required to save lives.”

Knoetze said Nelson Mandela Bay was the only municipality in the province remotely close to adequate readiness, with 17 fire engines.

“The rest of the province is dangerously under-resourced, despite legal obligations for regular fleet assessments and replacement cycles,” she said. DM