The Thokoza fire station has been refurbished and formally handed over to the community.

The facility, which was handed over by Ekurhuleni’s Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) Vivienne Chauke, cost R50 million and will serve the community of Thokoza and Katlehong.

It will also respond to the high risk Alrode industrial area, which has potentially flammable petrol depots in the vicinity.

The refurbishment lasted two years and provided employment opportunities for 66 local workers and six local subcontractors.

State-of-the-art equipment

The refurbished facility features a new water tanker, a major pumper, rescue pumper, medium pumper and four ambulances. The station also boasts five fire engines and four ambulances which will enable the fire station to respond faster to emergencies and cover a wider area.

The original fire station was outdated, smaller and only had tree fire engines and three ambulances. The new fire station also runs community awareness training programmes to empower citizens on dealing with emergencies and practical steps to take in case of fire.

The MMC called on the community to take ownership of the new facility and look after it.

“The community must protect and defend this facility. We have spent a lot of money to bring development and employment opportunities for the people of Thokoza. It is therefore important that we look after resources that belong to the community,” Chauke said.

The facility, which was handed over by Ekurhuleni’s Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) Vivienne Chauke, cost R50 million and will serve the community of Thokoza and Katlehong.

It will also respond to the high risk Alrode industrial area, which has potentially flammable petrol depots in the vicinity.

The refurbishment lasted two years and provided employment opportunities for 66 local workers and six local subcontractors.