Dutywa Health Centre Lacks Valid Fire Compliance Certificate

• Eastern Cape MEC for Health Ntandokazi Capa has admitted the Dutywa Community Health Centre does not have a valid fire compliance certificate.
• This comes days after the facility’s incinerator room burnt down by a veld fire on Saturday. The fire was luckily contained and the health centre is still operating as usual.
• However, union members have criticised the health department’s failure to maintain its own compliance with safety regulations to avoid disasters.

Following a fire gutting the incinerator room at the Dutywa Community Health Centre, Eastern Cape MEC for Health Ntandokazi Capa has admitted the facility does not have a valid fire compliance certificate.

Hot and dry weather conditions have resulted in a number of veld fires across the Eastern Cape recently. On Saturday, a veld fire reached the Dutywa health facility, resulting in the incinerator room catching fire. However, further damage to the centre was prevented, and it is still operating.

In a separate incident on the same day, 10 prefabricated homes used by staff at Holy Cross Hospital in Flagstaff also burnt down by a veld fire. GroundUp was shown a valid certificate for Fire Equipment Compliance for the Holy Cross Hospital.

Speaking during a visit to the Dutywa facility on Sunday, Capa said she was “grateful that no one was hurt and that the facility is still safe”.

“It was hot [over the weekend] so we suspect it was a veld fire. It was one of a number of veld fires across the province. We need to engage the district municipality to see how best to manage these situations.”

When asked if the hospital had a valid fire certificate, she said: “Not yet, we’re working on that as a department.”

The Dutywa facility’s incinerator room is located near the main buildings which are used to store flammable containers.

Health workers and community members at the facility explained how they “went out of their way” to douse the fire, fearing it would reach the nearby fuel tank

Everything inside the incinerator room was charred and melted.

A Dutywa resident who helped contain the fire, said, “I am of the opinion that fuel tanks and power generators should be stationed far away from wards and buildings that are busy with people to avoid disasters. Hospitals are even worse because there are patients who cannot walk or escape when there is a blaze in their wards.”

The South African Federation of Trade Unions(SAFTU) Gqeberha leader, Mzikazi Nkatha slammed the government for implementing budget cuts that ultimately end up affecting service delivery. “What would have happened had the fuel tank and generator caught fire?”

“The issue of compliance has always been a problem with the department. They continue to attribute this to budget cuts implemented by the national government, but they just don’t comply with the law. The government, as the owners of the policies, should lead by example. This is not new and has been happening that safety compliance is brazenly compromised,” said Nkatha.

According to the provincial health department spokesperson, Mkhululi Ndamase, both fires were caused by raging veld fires. He said it took the efforts of workers, patients, and community members to douse both fires.

He said the OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo district municipalities’ firefighters had assisted greatly at the Holy Cross Hospital fire in Flagstaff. No person was injured, he said.

Amathole District Municipality spokesperson Sisa Msiwa said they had received a call for grass alight behind the Dutywa Stadium. “As per protocol for vegetation fires, the firefighters used bush beaters, knapsacks and bucket systems to douse the fire.”

MEC Capa said more meetings with the Amathole Municipality would be held soon in efforts to improve firefighting responses to health facilities.

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