In October 2019, Saldanha Bay municipality’s fire services department installed smoke alarms in seven residences in Middelpos, Saldanha Bay. The installation forms part of the smoke alarms project that was initiated and implemented by the Western Cape Government’s Department of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Planning in 2017.
The department started doing research on tackling the scourge of fires and fire related deaths in the Western Cape with the focus on informal areas. The research showed that people who succumb in these fires are often asleep and simply never wake up-due to continued smoke inhalation. Therefore, the cause of death in most cases is not the actual fire, but the inhalation of smoke that starts longs before the flames are even seen.
Low cost smoke alarms were developed and has the potential to save thousands of lives. The new smoke alarm system has a 10-year battery life and has been proven to detect smoke in less than 15 seconds. This will help raise the alarm of a fire and its dangers a lot quickler and lessen the level of smoke inhalation.
The DA-led Saldanha Bay municipality received 198 smoke alarms from the DA-led Western Cape government to install in high fire risk areas. The George Kerridge and Middelpos informal settlements were identified as high-risk areas through the fire department’s statistics.
Executive mayor Marius Koen urged all residents who were present at the installation event to continue being alert when it comes to fires. He encouraged them to memorise the fire services emergency contact number, and to report fires or smoke as soon as it is spotted. The mayor went on to say, “Smoke alarms in the home provide an important early warning of fire, allowing people additional time to escape.”
