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Another house in Tswelelang burned to the ground as fire emergency landline still non-operational



Another household has burned to the ground in Tswelelang as the Dr Kenneth Kaunda Fire and Rescue Department's emergency vehicles and landline are Non-operational, posing a risk to the community of Maquassi Hills during emergencies 

After efforts to contact the fire department in Maquassi Hills, a house in Ext 18, in Tswelelang has burned to the ground in a space of a week and days since the first incident occurred in Mamarela informal settlement 

This second fire incident occurred during the afternoon of Sunday, 02 August 2026. It is alleged that fire emergency vehicles are still non-responsive to date





The Non-operational emergency vehicles and landline of the Dr Kenneth Kaunda Fire and Rescue Department located in Wolmaransstad has continued to frustrate the community as they are concerned what will occur if another household burns to ashes while the fire department fails to oblige to its duties

"This is last week after we had a meeting with Mr Sothwane regarding the burned shack of Bokamoso Pelesa at Mamarela section. The victim's shack burned down to the ground after he had repeatedly tried to call Wolmaransstad fires tation to no avail, apparently the land-line there hasn't been operational for the past 2-3 months" - Concerned resident

Amongs other things that were discussed and agreed upon was that they would issue a statement through the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality page that would amongst others include alternative numbers for the Wolmaransstad Fire Station 





"Just this morning I recieved a call of another house that burned down in Extention 18, that family too lost everything because the number wasn't going through" - Concerned resident 

The community accuses the department of failing them and playing with lives of the community. Speaking to Wolmaransstad Link, community activist, Mpho Masibi has called for the matter to be attended swiftly before another incident occurred

"We are aware of what is happening at the fire department, we tried multiple times to contact it's emergency landline, however, it does not go through. Recently, the department had a gate crisis with automatic motor till-to-date, it does not operate. We are worried for the safety of the employees, we wish that management may come up with a solution that the safety of employees may be prioritised" - Community Activist, Mpho Masibi





Masibi also stressed on the issue of emergency vehicles which are allegedly not operating when there are emergencies, there are currently 6 vehicles which are stationery at the fire station based in Wolmaransstad, however, it is reported that only one vehicle that is on standby to tend to emergencies that might arise, he says the issue has to be addressed 

"These vehicles when they are supposed to operate during emergencies, there seems to be a problem, so we are determined to make sure that our fire department has all systems in place" - Community Activist, Mpho Masibi

Another Concerned community member, who asked to be anonymous, highlighted that, the fire department based in Wolmaransstad serves a huge community of Maquassi Hills, fire essential services need to be place for any emergencies 

"This fire station serves the entire Maquassi Hills with only 6 emergency vehicles, how can they say these vehicles are not operational, even emergency landline. In future, we might have a case of a huge building catching fire, what will happen as these vehicles are not operational. What efforts have they took to ensure that these emergency vehicles are operational and are able to assist the community. And if emergency landline isn't also operational, our communities will have a crisis of houses burning down" - Concerned community member 






 Station Director, Mr Sothoane said, it is not only their office that is experiencing landlines that are not working 

"The issue of emergency landline, it's not only our office that is affected, all offices in the district do not have landlines that are operational" - Maquassi Hills Director in Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Fire Department 

The Wolmaransstad Fire Station has agreed to issue alternative emergency contact numbers through the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality page for when emergencies arise

Wolmaransstad Link proud partner of Learners Classroom Wolmaransstad 

To book a Learners Driver spot, contact them on: 072 303 1918 or visit them at: Rood Street NR 9 Wolmaransstad 2630

Updated: August 2026 

#WolmaransstadLinkNews

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