Question NW452 to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

Reply:

(1) (a), (b), and (c)

1	2	3
Risk Category	(a) Minimum number of pumping units (fire trucks)	(b) Minimum manning levels (firefighters) per fire truck/appliance
A	2	5
B	2	4
C	1	4
D	1	4
E	As determined by individual risk assessment
NOTE: (c) Arrangements for vehicle fires, grass/bush and special services and the need additional specialist vehicles and equipment such as aerial appliances and water carriers are determined by local fire conditions and based upon the municipality’s pre-determined attendance (PDA) for each category of fire.

 

(2) (a) (i) The South African National Standard SANS: 10090: Community Protection against Fires, sets the following compliance requirements in terms of vehicle maintenance:

• • All emergency vehicles should be subjected to regular, documented maintenance carried out by competent persons.
  • When developing a maintenance programme, the vehicle manufacturer’s requirements and recommendations should be included.
  • Safety checks shall form an integral part of all maintenance programmes.
  • In fire departments which handle many incidents per vehicle all emergency vehicles should be serviced at least once every six months or sooner.
  • In addition to routine servicing at least one major service should be carried out on each vehicle annually.
  • At fire station level, emergency vehicles should be subjected to routine daily checks to ensure immediate serviceability for operational use.
  • Defects revealed during routine daily vehicle checks should be remedied immediately where possible.
  • Defects affecting an emergency vehicle’s operational ability should be referred to competent maintenance personnel.
  • Where fire pumps, aerial platforms or aerial ladders form part of an emergency vehicle or its equipment, the necessary maintenance, checks and tests, prescribed by the manufacturer, should be carried out and documented.
  • Unless the manufacturer’s directives require anything to the contrary all fire pumps, aerial platforms and aerial ladders should be checked and tested on initial acceptance, quarterly and on any other occasion should such a check or test be deemed necessary.
  • Additional annual tests and checks should be conducted to assess pump, aerial platform, or aerial ladder performance, where such assessments are not a compulsory part of the quarterly assessments.

(a) (ii) SANS: 10090 sets the following compliance requirements for skills development of staff:

• Fire services should, for the fire extinguishing function and in relation to the risk profile covered, have implemented the following as minimum recommendations:
• personnel selection, appointment and advancement criteria detailing qualifications and experience requirements for all posts;
• suitable provisions, planning and record keeping for initial, continuation, conversion and specialist training for fire-fighters and officers; and
• accurate records for all training attended and conducted by subject and staff members.
• The International Standard NFPA 1201 is applied for training requirements.
• The ability of municipalities to meet the attendance times to fires should be tested during exercises.
• A standard system of training is adopted throughout the fire service, and many municipalities have established Fire Services Training Academies where different municipalities can have their members trained.
• This ensures a greater measure of efficiency when neighbouring brigades collaborate in attacking large fires and when personnel are transferred from one brigade to another.
• All of the above should also be read in conjunction with the Local Government: Municipal Staff Regulations which came into effect on 1 July 2022.
   

(a) (iii) SANS: 10090 sets the following compliance requirements for upgrading of equipment:

• Every fire service should regularly assess its equipment to determine whether such equipment is obsolete or unserviceable.
• Documented annual equipment replacement programmes should be developed to ensure that obsolete and unserviceable equipment is replaced systematically.
• All fire department equipment should be assessed regularly to ensure that the equipment is suitable for the changing and expanding fire-risks in the community and to keep abreast of developments. Where necessary additional equipment should be procured.

(2) (b) who is responsible for ensuring the specified compliance requirements:

• In terms of the Fire Brigade Services Act, (No 99 of 1987) a municipality appoints a person who possesses the prescribed qualifications and experience, as Chief Fire Officer to oversee its Fire Service.
• The Chief Fire Officer is responsible for ensuring the specified compliance of the municipal Fire Services requirements in terms of the SANS: 10090 and related municipal policies in this regard.

(c) When compliance related issues are detected by municipalities themselves, and corrective measures are required to be taken against the delegated officials:

• these are normally managed by Municipal Councils through the Local Government.
• Municipal Staff Regulations which came into effect on 1 July 2022; the various action steps against individual personnel members, if any, to address compliance related matters are based upon the merits of each case. 
• When compliance related issues are detected by either the Province or National Fire Services, during capacity assessments, a written report on the outcomes of the assessment is provided to the relevant Municipal Manager, with key recommendations on how to rectify the relevant compliance related matters;
• the various action steps against individual personnel members, if any, falls within the jurisdiction and competency and jurisdiction of each municipality, and is relative to the merits of each case.

End.