Residents of Still Bay can now feel a little safer after the DA-led Hessequa municipality turned a 50-year old workshop into a 24-hour fire station.
The decision to establish a fire station came after a risk assessment identified Still Bay as a high-risk fire area. Still Bay is central to Jongensfontein, Blombos and Melkhoutfontein and the new fire station will significantly reduce the response time to fire emergencies.
The work of turning the workshop into a fire station started in September 2019 and was completed within two days. Community businesses and the Business Chamber supported the project by donating material and equipment needed for the completion of the station. The municipality and the provincial government contributed just over R1.7 million for the fire truck.
The Still Bay fire station was officially opened on the 13th of September 2019 by executive mayor Grant Riddles. At the opening of the fire station the mayor said that a 24-hour fire station and well-maintained fire fleet has been one of his main objectives since he was elected in 2016.
Mayor Grant Riddles also stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of all residents within the municipal area. The new fire station in the DA-run Hessequa will ensure that the municipality can respond to fire emergencies in a reasonable amount of time, as promised in the DA’s 2016 local government election manifesto.
