Timing of George Municipality fire officials' suspensions raises alarm

There have been no clear answers from local or provincial authorities, following the suspension of a George municipality fire chief and fire station commander at the height of fire season. 

It is alleged that they filed a grievance after being blocked from performing their duties when charges were brought against them. 

Approached for comment on the reasons for the suspensions, their timing, the status of the disciplinary proceedings, and who was filling the positions in the interim, the municipality would only say, “George Municipality, in line with its policy, does not comment on internal matters concerning officials.”

The Patriotic Alliance’s Brendon Adams, a former Mayoral Committee Member for Community Safety at George Municipality, expressed concern about the timing of the suspensions, noting the valuable experience the officials brought to their roles.

“It is concerning that the fire chief and a senior fire official were suspended during the fire season, a time when their expertise is needed most. They are people who won disaster management awards for their work during the building collapse in George. I hope justice takes its course. Fortunately, there is a large pool of experience in the fire department,” he said. 

George Municipality did not respond to requests for comment on concerns that the suspensions took place during the height of the high-risk fire season.

Last month, Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell noted that the province continued to face a high number of wildfires, placing significant strain on firefighting resources.

Firefighting resources, based in George, Bredasdorp, Stellenbosch and Porterville, had been deployed at 23 wildfire incidents, “exceeding R2.4 million in cost, primarily to support ground crews in inaccessible and high-risk areas,” he said.

While final figures were still being consolidated, the department estimated that several thousand hectares of "agricultural, conservation and forestry land have been affected by wildfires so far this season".

Bredell did not respond to requests for comment on whether he was looking into the suspensions and the concerns about their timing during the fire season.

Cape Times