Cape Town - The George Municipality, Eden District Municipality, the SCFPA and SANParks met for a debriefing session following a devastating fire in the area at the beginning of August, with a charge of arson being investigated.
The raging fire propelled by berg winds of up to 48km/h left a trail of destruction in Wilderness on the 11th August with four homes lost.
At the meeting held on 23rd August sympathies to those who lost homes and possessions were extended, with SANparks reporting a total of 25 separate fire call outs were received by the George Control Centre on Tuesday 11th August – with the extent of the fires calling all backup resources into play. George Municipal Fire Services has measures in place to allow for assistance with firefighting in the Greater George area with a Memorandum of Agreement signed with Eden District (responsible for Veld Fires), the SCFPA and a working collaboration with SANPark.
At the recent debriefing all stakeholders have agreed to improve co-operation and incident response by means of devising a proactive plan to respond to unforeseen changing weather conditions.
· SANParks and the Eden District Municipality will explore the possibility of an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) and revisit emergency procedures to ensure better integration of resources.
· The FPA and other agencies will kick-start a fire awareness campaign, while the George Municipality will investigate the establishment of a satellite fire station in Kleinkrantz.
The affected home-owners are being kept up to date and the investigation continues.
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