Smoke detectors save life
Wallacedene residents give thanks
THE smoke detectors installed in Wallacedene TRA informal settlement are doing their job and have saved one life already. Community leader Thembelane Mzola, who was trained by Western Cape Government Disaster Risk Management Fire and Rescue and University of Stellenbosch University Engineering Department specialists to install and maintain the photoelectric smoke detectors, said the number of fires had been reduced this winter.
Mzola said there had been 20 fires in the settlement last winter and one young boy was badly burnt when plastic melted on to his skin.
There was only one fire this winter. Neighbours heard the alarm and were able to break down their friend’s door and drag him from his burning bed. They were then able to put out the fire.
“Some people complained at first but people don’t know until they see what is happening: that the detectors save people’s lives and keeps their houses from being burnt,” said Mzola.
He said the community members who were trained to install and maintain the detectors and are paid a small stipend by the Western Cape government, inspect the detectors regularly with the university specialists, who are engaged in ongoing research.
Rodney Eksteen, assistant director at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre, said: “We believe that photoelectric smoke detection technology engineered into a self-contained device with a silence feature and long-life battery with a 10-year lifespan will alert occupants of a fire and provide the necessary time to escape, three minutes max.
“About 70% of all fire deaths in the Western Cape occur during sleeping hours.”
Eksteen said the devices were installed in bedrooms, away from cooking areas which would activate the alarm.
Already 5 000 smoke detectors had been installed in informal settlements and other vulnerable facilities in the Western Cape, he said.
Over 1 200 devices had been installed at Wallacedene and with the assistance of the private sector and the university, they would be rolled out to other vulnerable communities, in spite of budgetary constraints.
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said: “For too long too little has been done to proactively tackle the scourge of fires in our informal communities and many lives and lots of property has been destroyed. The goal of this project is to install smoke alarms in our vulnerable communities that will wake people up before it’s too late.”