Rotary Club of Newlands donates emergency respose vehicle to City's Emergency Volunteer Services
15 January 2016
On Thursday, 13 January 2016 the Emergency Volunteer Services (EVS) received a donation of a fully equipped emergency response vehicle from the Newlands Rotary Club at a ceremony in Noordhoek. The EVS team supports the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management department and is a first responder to wildfires and other environmental disasters.
With all the recent fires, the donation of the multi-purpose Isuzu truck couldn’t have been timelier. After two and a half years of negotiations, fundraising and engagement with sponsors and partners, Colin Burke, President of the Rotary Club of Newlands’ dream of donating an emergency vehicle to the Emergency Volunteer Services on the South Peninsula became a reality.
Faster response time to disasters
The shortage of emergency response vehicles is a serious problem being faced in the Western Cape, with the numerous fires that flare up at this time of year. The lack of vehicles often leads to emergency services taking up to 40 minutes to arrive at disaster scenes, especially in more remote areas. It goes without saying that the vital lost time can literally mean the difference between life and death.
With the Rotary Club of Newlands’ recent fund-raising project, the club was able to donate a multi-purpose vehicle to the Emergency Volunteer Services.
“We are incredibly grateful for all the support that we have received from all our sponsors and supporters; without their selfless generosity, this project would not have become a reality. With the generous support from Isuzu Trucks SA, we were able to donate a fully-kitted, multi-purpose vehicle, which will provide services to residents in the Deep South, from Claremont to Cape Point, including Masiphumelele, Ocean View and Redhill,” said Burke.
“The support has been overwhelming, we even received a generous donation from the Rotary Club of Albert Park in Melbourne Australia, who took it upon themselves to organise a raffle to help raise funds for this project,” added Burke.
Rotary Club Newlands thanked for its generous donation
Davin Chown from EVS expressed his thanks to the Rotary Club of Newlands for managing the project.
“When working with Rotary Clubs, you know that the funds get invested in the projects that they are intended for. If it was not for their support and knowledge, and bringing all the parties together, we would not have this magnificent asset available for emergency support. This project has been all about active partnerships and engaging with each other for the benefit of the whole community. With this vehicle we will be able to respond a lot faster and contain emergency areas a lot quicker while we wait for the larger support teams to arrive,” said Chown.
Councillor Felicity Purchase from the City of Cape Town who also attended the event congratulated the Rotary Club of Newlands and the EVS on this wonderful initiative and collaboration. Purchase commented on the importance of having quick access to an emergency vehicle. In the past there was always the danger of a team being isolated on this side of the Peninsula while waiting for support, with this emergency vehicle that risk has been minimised considerably.
Isuzu Trucks SA CEO, Craig Uren, added that they are thrilled to be associated with this wonderful initiative and to provide assistance to the community.
The truck will be based at Living Hope and teams will start their training on the vehicle soon.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Newlands and the projects that they are involved with visit www.newlands.co.za. For more information on EVS visit www.evs.org.za.
Emergency contact information
Residents can report any fire outbreaks or other emergencies by calling 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone.
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