Durban - A section of the Nongoma CBD in northern KwaZulu-Natal was burnt down on Tuesday after a fire broke out, destroying multiple shops.
Sources have confirmed that firefighters had to travel from Ulundi to extinguish the fire.
The fire the broke out in Nongoma, northern KZN. pic.twitter.com/wDPeCBUiKZ
— Jehran Daniel (@JehranD) March 1, 2023
It was not the first time that firefighters from Ulundi extinguished a fire in Nongoma, which is an hour away.
There is no active fire response team in the town.
Firefighters were seen trying to douse the raging fire that ripped through a Russells furniture store, among other businesses.
IOL tried contacting the mayor of Nongoma several times for comment but could not get through to him.
ActionSA’s Zwakele Mncwango spoke to IOL about the fire and said that the town has lost many shops that it desperately needed, given the fact it is not as commercially developed as other municipalities in the province.
He said there were plans to approach the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs regarding the instalment of an emergency response team in Nongoma.
Set in the hills of Zululand, Nongoma has a population of just under 200 000 but has no fire department or emergency response.
Nongoma is primarily a countryside municipality, with little urban influence.
“This isn’t the first time that firefighters from Ulundi had to drive to Nongoma and put out a fire, and I think it’s unreasonable. Nongoma has such a large population for it not to have at least a fire department.
“I am going to be approaching COGTA to speak to them about this matter,” Mncwango said.
IOL