Drakenstein Municipality this week said it agrees with reports from the City of Cape Town and Tshwane Metro that private firefighting services offered by the Fidelity Services Group is unregulated and that it will follow the court challenge on the lawfulness thereof closely.
According to the municipality these services falls outside the statutory frameworks that give local governments jurisdiction over such crucial specialist emergency responses.
The City of Cape Town recently said fire services offered by Fidelity are “unlawful” and no agreement was in place for these to operate in Cape Town.
According to MoneyWeb, Fidelity SecureFire, a subscription-based private firefighting service, was launched in June in Cape Town.
The group’s fire engines have recently also been spotted in Drakenstein and has been offering firefighting services in Gauteng since 2023.
The service is also available in Durban, East London, Gqeberha and Bloemfontein.
The City of Cape Town’s Chief Fire Officer, Clinton Manuel, wrote to Fidelity in May informing the company that the service was “unregulated”.
“The City is opposing the operation of private firefighting services within its jurisdiction, considering it ‘unlawful and constitutionally impermissible’,” he said.
“We have no mandate from our citizens to outsource the fire and emergency function to private entities for their commercial gain and will not be entering into any sort of agreements with Fidelity.”
Drakenstein Municipality’s Executive Director for Corporate and Planning Services, Seraj Johaar, this week, said: “We agree with reports from the City of Cape Town and Tshwane that this service offering is unregulated and we will follow the court challenge on the lawfulness thereof closely.
“National legislation makes provision for the Fire Chief of Drakenstein Municipality to have control and command of all fires within the jurisdiction of Drakenstein. Any fire service that does not comply with the instructions of the Fire Chief therefore commits an offence and may be criminally prosecuted.”
He said both Fidelity and Drakenstein Farm Watch (DFW) were subject to this legal position.
According to Johaar the municipality has a well-capacitated fire service and has an excellent track record of protecting life and property.
“While DFW and Fidelity Services Group contract private clients, Drakenstein Municipality is obliged to render this service to all persons and businesses and in the majority of cases at no cost.”
Fidelity Services Group CEO Wahl Bartmann last week said Fidelity SecureFire was established to offer a structured, lawful and customer-focused alternative to traditional fire-response models. “We do not seek to replace public services but to enhance fire readiness for subscribed customers who choose to invest in additional protection.
“Before launching the service we undertook extensive legal reviews, including consultations with our in-house legal team and formal legal opinions from senior counsel.
“The outcome confirmed that the company operates fully within the boundaries of the Fire Brigade Services Act, municipal by-laws and other applicable laws.”
He said no provision prohibited a private entity from offering firefighting or fire prevention services to paying customers.
“We are a private, contract-based fire response provider, not a public or municipal service.”
