If there is no water that comes out of your taps, the chances are there is no water in the mains to fight a fire. Kirsten Kelly talks to Wynand Engelbrecht, the Chief Fire Officer at Fire Ops SA about the water crisis and fire safety.
“Assets are under threat due to lack of water, and this is often compounded by the fact that municipal fire services lack basic equipment like ladders, platforms and rescue vehicles,” adds Engelbrecht.
Maintenance of fire hydrants
Like most water infrastructure, fire hydrants are also badly maintained.
Wynand Engelbrecht, the Chief Fire Officer at Fire Ops SA
Regulation

- Water Services Act (Act No. 108 of 1997): This act designates municipalities as water services authorities, making them responsible for providing water services, including water for firefighting, within their jurisdictions.
- SANS 10090:2003 (Community Protection Against Fire): This standard emphasises that “Two essentials for protection against fire are an efficient fire service and an adequate water supply. Local authorities should achieve and maintain a category 1 service.”
- The Constitution of South Africa assigns municipalities the duty of managing water and firefighting services.
- The Water Services Act (1997) and the Fire Brigade Services Act (1987) mandate local governments to ensure that fire departments have adequate access to water.
Compliance with building regulations are fundamental to fire safety. Under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, all buildings in South Africa, including residential properties, are required to ensure the safety of occupants from fire hazards. These regulations dictate that buildings must be designed and constructed in ways that minimise fire risks, such as the use of fire doors, fire-resistant materials and the proper installation of electrical systems.
“Every business and home is built differently, and I always advise businesses to use a fire consultant when trying to minimise risks. For instance, equipment within a building may be worth more than the building itself and could be destroyed with water. It would therefore not be a good idea to have a sprinkler system above that equipment. Certain fires that are caused by chemicals cannot be extinguished with water. It is always best to consult a specialist,” states Engelbrecht.How much water is needed to put out a fire?

- How soon after the fire happens is the service called?
- How soon can the firefighters get to the fire?
- How soon can firefighters enter the building?
- How skilled are the firefighters once they are in the building?
- Extinguishing large fires in the CoJ over the 11-year period typically took between 30 and 90 minutes, with fire flows ranging between 300 and 2 100 litres per minute (large fires are fires that require more than 5000 litres to extinguish)
- 90% of the large fires investigated were extinguished using fire flows of 3 120 litres per minute.
Innovate
Many laws and standards pertaining to firefighting and safety are drawn from Europe and America. But Engelbrecht argues that conditions in South Africa are vastly different from ‘First World Countries’. “We need municipal authorities to sit down and think about good practise that is better aligned to reality in South Africa. For instance, there could be a bylaw that allows fire hydrants to be fed by certified boreholes.” International best practice states that a fire hydrant should be capable of delivering a water flow of at least 1500 litres/minute at 3 bar. “ Firefighters are more concerned with the flow of water than the pressure. We can pressurise water ourselves with pumps. In response to the water situation, Fire Ops have developed their own Ultra High Pressure system (UHP) where pressure is increased from 3 bar to 140 bar and flow is decreased from 1500 litres/minute to 100 litres/minute. This also significantly reduces water damage,” says Engelbrecht. Fire Ops’ rapid intervention vehicles (RIV) carries between 380 litres and 500 litres of water and a 90 m high pressure hose. Fitted with UHP technology, they can work at a structural fire for up to 25 minutes with this water supply – completely independent on fire hydrants, instead plugging into domestic water supply (like pool water and taps) to refill our tanks. They have also developed a standalone, fully mobile UHP system, built by their technical division that can either be purchased or rented from and kept on site at commercial properties and manufacturing plants that pose a strong threat of fire or potentially hazardous environment. With a 500 litre horizontal tank, the system delivers 100 litres of water per minute at a working pressure of 90-170 bar. Engelbrecht estimates that over 1 million litres of water was used to extinguish the 2003 fire at Albert Street where 77 people died. “If the UHP was used from the beginning we could have drastically reduced water usage to 5 000 litres of water. High pressure breaks up water particles, eventually creating cold steam; thereby increasing the absorption ratio. This creates a ‘cold fire’ that is easier to extinguish. By atomising water, there is less runoff water and firefighting becomes far more water efficient. We are probably the only fire brigade in the world that uses UHP for all structural fires.”“There are cases, such as industrial fires, where conventional firefighting methods are still the best approach, but adjusting nozzles and hose sizes can make all the difference, make the best use of water,” he adds.Innovation is key to addressing the challenges of firefighting during a water crisis. With aging infrastructure, limited municipal resources, and growing urban populations, traditional firefighting methods are no longer sufficient. By adopting advanced technologies such as UHP and exploring alternative water sources like certified boreholes, South Africa can develop more efficient, water-conscious firefighting strategies. This can reduce water usage, ensuring that critical resources are preserved while still protecting lives and property.
Fire Ops SA factbox

- Private Fire Brigade
- Operates in Gauteng (Crown Mines, Rosebank, Fairland, Chamdor, Randpark Ridge, Waterfall City, Alberton, Kyalami); KwaZulu Natal (Kloof) and Free State (Bloemfontein)
- Fleet of 27 vehicles (large pumpers, water tankers, RIV’s (rapid intervention vehicles) and response motorcycles)
- Staff – more than 100 full time fire fighters, officers and commanders
- Servicing over 533 000 addresses of residences and companies.