Sinoville Firefighting Association: We want to work with the City, not against it

The Sinoville Firefighting Association has reaffirmed its commitment to working alongside the City of Tshwane, rather than in opposition to it, following the conclusion of a high-profile legal battle.

The High Court in Pretoria recently dismissed an application by the City of Tshwane which sought to declare private firefighting brigades operating within the municipality as unlawful. In its ruling, the court maintained that there is currently no legislation in South Africa that regulates or prohibits the operation of private firefighting services.

Johan Botha, head of the Sinoville Firefighting Association, explained that the entity was established specifically to supplement the municipality’s struggling fire brigade. 

“Sanity must prevail,” said Botha. “We know Tshwane is in financial difficulty; it’s not a secret. Here we offer help for free—we say we are not going to charge you, we are going to help you—yet they say, ‘We don’t want your help, we don’t need you.’ How stupid can that be?”