Usakos residents have raised concerns over the town council’s fire response capacity following a recent blaze and delays in repairing a fire truck.
Residents living near the area where a fire broke out on 18 June say smoke from the fire had an impact on their health and living conditions.
A resident who spoke on condition of anonymity tells The Namibian the fire was close to her home and its smoke lingered.
“The smoke lingered until the next day, forcing me to wear a mask and preventing me from doing laundry until it was minimised by my husband,” she says.
Hans Aoseb, another resident, says he was concerned about the state of the town’s fire truck and the delays in repairing it.
“We as the residents of Usakos are tired of the Usakos Town Council’s excuses of repairing the fire truck while we know that funds have been made available by QKR Navachab Gold Mine to get the fire truck fully functional, but now the delay tactics played by the council are worrisome and concerning,” he says
He says a fire is uncontrollable.
However, QKR Navachab Gold Mine spokesperson Mclyn Kasale says no funds were directly transferred to the council for the repairs.
Instead, the company purchased the equipment needed to replace the fire truck’s water engine at a cost of N$651 514.
According to Kasale, the project was initially expected to be completed in April, but delays have pushed the completion date.
Usakos Town Council chief executive Lesley Goreseb says no residents were directly affected by the fire.
“It was a veld fire and not close to the residents,” he says.
Goreseb says the fire may have been started by someone smoking a cigarette, although the exact cause has not been confirmed.
He says the council has measures in place to assist residents should they be directly affected by a fire incident.
“We normally have a budget of N$2 000 set aside in cases where residents are directly affected by a fire,” Goreseb says.
Addressing concerns about the fire truck, Goreseb says its engine is undergoing repairs and that a replacement engine is expected from Germany.
“The engine is at Okahandja being fixed and according to the company handling the repairs, the new engine from Germany should arrive and be ready by the end of June,” he says.
Goreseb told The Namibian earlier this month that the council has measures in place to respond to fire outbreaks while the truck is undergoing repairs.
