Loide Jason
Victoria Immanuel
The recent fire at the Shoprite storeroom in Outapi took seven hours to extinguish due to a shortage of qualified firefighters within the town council.
This is despite the fact that Outapi is the biggest town in the Omusati, where rapid development is clear to the naked eye. The fire, which occurred on Monday evening, was eventually put out with assistance from neighbouring town councils, Okahao, Oshikuku, and Tsandi, the next day.
The town, however, is skating on thin ice as it has no capacity to fight fire, a situation that has placed both businesses and residents at risk.
The town council’s inability to recruit and retain qualified firefighters is attributed to the absence of an approved organisational structure review.
This review, which includes job evaluation grading and salary structure, is essential for establishing a dedicated fire department.
Outapi CEO Ananias Nashilongo confirmed to this publication that the council has made a formal request to the ministry for approval of the organisational structure review from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development.
To date, however, the ministry has yet to approve the request.
According to Nashilongo, the ministry declined to approve their submission due to a standardised process that is underway, but he emphasised the town council’s urgent need for a dedicated fire department.
He explained that the council initially had three officials from another department who underwent basic fire training, but two of them are no longer fit for firefighting duties due to illness.
“We have decided to seek approval to equip the department, but it was not approved,” Nashilongo said.
Outapi also feels hard done by the ministry, at least from Nashilongo’s perspective.
He said that the council made submissions last year; however, no approval was granted to the Outapi while other town councils whose submissions were submitted after theirs were approved.
“Katima Mulilo was approved. They consulted us, asking how we created our structure and written our submission. But later informed us that their request was approved,” he lamented.
Agreed
Responding, urban development executive director Nghidinua Daniel explained that despite not having a fully-fledged fire department, the ministry has taken steps to ensure the safety of residents.
In an interview with the New Era, Daniel explained what the ministry has done so far.
Additionally, he said the reason the structure has not been approved is because the ministry has been working on a standardised structure for all local authorities to ensure they have the necessary capacity to handle emergencies, including fires.
“We have taken several measures to address the fire situation in Outapi,” Daniel said.
“We have provided them with a fire engine and a fire station and trained local officials on firefighting techniques. We are also working on a standardised structure for all local authorities to ensure they have the necessary capacity to handle emergencies,” he said.
Daniel, furthermore, emphasised that the community also plays a crucial role in fire prevention.
“We regret the incident, but the community also has a responsibility to prevent fires,” Daniel said.
“Residents should be vigilant and take precautions to avoid such incidents. We urge everyone to be aware of the dangers of fire and to take steps to prevent them,” he said.
The ministry also expressed its sympathies to those affected by the fire and has assured the public that it is committed to working with local authorities to improve emergency response capabilities in the region.
Daniel also addressed concerns about the lack of a dedicated fire officer in Outapi.
“We understand the concerns raised but we had an agreement with the council to train the officials from another department with firefighting skills. These officials are equipped to handle emergencies and to put out fires. These officials were trained in Swakopmund,” Daniel said.
Blame
Daniel said if the trained people are no longer fit for the firefighting roles others could have been identified to take on those responsibilities. The council needs to engage with the ministry.
“We’ve always worked together to find solutions. We are not interested in playing games; we just want to address issues in a way that solves the problem. We’re still working on the request, and the council knows this. We’re in the process of standardising our organisational restructuring, which is almost complete,” he emphasised.
He continued: “Once that’s done, we can tackle the issue in Outapi and other local authorities. There are financial implications involved, so it’s not just about creating positions. The main concern is whether we can afford the associated costs.”
He went on to say, “If we can’t fill all the positions, we might fill a few and proceed step by step. This process requires extensive consultation. It’s not just about the council submitting new budgets for approval. These financial implications need to be discussed with other stakeholders as well.”
Shoprite
At the time of writing, authorities were still investigating the cause of the fire that broke out at Shoprite in Outapi Town Square.
According to Omusati police commander Ismael Basson, the shop caught fire during the early hours of Tuesday morning, adding that the cause of the fire was yet to be established.
No injuries have been reported.
“Fire crews will be on the scene for several more hours as they extinguish hot spots,” said Basson.
Meanwhile, Omusati police spokesperson Anna Kunga said the first arriving crews found fire coming from the warehouse area, which is located toward the back end of the building.
“After hours of battling the flames, firefighters contained the fire in the warehouse area of the building. Firefighters supplied a sprinkler system inside the building to keep the fire from spreading further,” Kunga explained.
Meanwhile, Shoprite employees who were at the scene refused to speak to the media on what happened.
An Outapi resident said it took crews nearly 10 hours to get the fire under control.
“Someone woke me up, telling me that Shoprite is burning. We were ready to loot the store; luckily the police were already at the scene,” she said.
Police officers cleared the streets in the neighbourhood behind the warehouse as a precaution.
-vkaapanda@nepc.com.na