WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-02-05 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
By Caryn Dolley
The “biggest problem” still hindering Cape Town’s fire services is a staff shortage of 600, yet most of the 70 firefighters it employed last year to alleviate the problem are “still being trained and brought up to the right standard”.
And firefighters say they are frustrated and “feeling the crunch” of having to work with colleagues “unsuited and not really capable” of the job.
In June last year the city fire services task team reported 600 firefighters were still needed and eight months down the line it seemed, while new equipment was being brought in and pay parity being sorted out, the staff situation had not changed much.
| ‘In terms of full complement, 600 firefighters would be required’ |
Seventy firefighters were employed by the city last year, but on Sunday Robert MacDonald, spokesperson for Mayor Helen Zille, said “many are still being trained up”.
He said it was taking time to appoint new firefighters because it took about a year to train them and “only so many firefighters” could be trained at a time.
“Then we have to recruit according to the number of people that come out of the training school. It takes time,” MacDonald said.
Director of the city’s emergency services, Patrick Adams, also said it “could do with more staff”.
“Most of the actual funded vacancies have been filled. However, in terms of full complement, 600 firefighters would be required.
| ‘There are some petite ones’ |
I’m positive we’ll get more money for more staff,” he said.
Adams said he had not noticed “any low morale” among firefighters.
“I’m proud of the fire and rescue services. There are dedicated and hard working firefighters and their work is appreciated. It doesn’t go unnoticed.”
But a number of firefighters who were spoken to said they were “having to face the real heat” and were dissatisfied with their working conditions.
The firefighters asked not to be named as they feared it would jeopardise their jobs, but Adams said he could not comment on their complaints if he did not know who they were.
One firefighter said things were “getting really, really bad”.
“We’re feeling the crunch. It’s like the heads of the services don’t know how we should utilise our resources. There’s a major problem with the staff coming in. The people being employed are totally unsuited to the job.
“They’re not physically suited. There are some petite ones who would be unable to carry victims on their shoulders. What would they do in a situation where someone’s stuck in a burning house? This is ludicrous,” he said.
Another said it was “frightening” working with others still being trained.
“When it comes to a life-threatening situation, I can’t be sure they will know what to do. It makes me uneasy,” he said.
A third said they were also still waiting for the pay-parity issue to be resolved.
“Some firefighters in areas like Tygerberg are earning more than those working elsewhere.
“We were told that by June last year this issue would have been sorted out. It’s been nine months. We’re waiting,” he said.
MacDonald said R150-million had been allocated for the second phase of addressing the parity issue.
“The first phase was about restructuring. The second will be filling critical vacancies and will take the next two years or so,” he said.
Debbie Schafer, head of the city’s fire services task team, said it took 10 years for the fire services staff situation to become what it was and it would take years to sort out.
“The biggest problems we still face are not enough staff yet and a general lack of communication from certain levels.”
She said budgetary constraints meant the staff situation could not be immediately improved and because “a number of other directorates” were lacking essential staff, the city’s various services were doing a “balancing act”.
Schafer said last year the services had received nine fire engines, four rescue vehicles and three bush-fire tenders.
Schafer said another tender had been awarded for a 4×4 bush fire engine, water tender, aerial platform and mobile control unit. One of the fire engines would go to the Roeland Street fire station.
- <a href='http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fArticle…target=’_blank’> The Cape Times on February 04, 2008
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=vn20080204060718308C825795