Infrastructure
With regard to the winter fire season in the province: Whether his Department has any proactive measures in place to support municipalities in the province in dealing with the fire season in this financial year; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of these plans?
My Department employs a partnership-based approach working with other spheres of government, sister departments, NGO’s, tertiary institutions, and other relevant stakeholders on various interventions to mitigate (prevent) fire risks, respond to fires and assist victims of fires within informal settlements. Amongst other prevailing fire prevention interventions, my Department prioritises awareness-raising and educating communities through our various partners.
My Department, in collaboration with the University of Stellenbosch’s Fire Engineering Research Unit [FireSUN], has developed a report and guideline [2021] to improve fire safety in informal settlements, including fire safety interventions for backyarders. This collaboration has yielded various communication materials provided to municipalities and our partners to be further distributed to communities as a measure in preparedness for fire season.
