IN QUOTES | Alan Winde calls on city and UCT to stop future fire risks

Western Cape premier Alan Winde said on Monday the city of Cape Town in collaboration with experts from the University of Cape Town (UCT) need to consider ways in which the damage caused by wildfires can be mitigated.

The premier was addressing a media briefing on Monday from UCT, where the fire wreaked havoc and destroyed several buildings.

The premier was joined by UCT vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng, mayor Dan Plato and UCT registrar Royston Pillay, among others. 

Here are five quotes from the briefing: 

Investment in firefighters paid off — Winde 

“When you invest in these services it’s always a tough discussion because you’re budgeting for something you don’t know is going to happen, but you presume it’s going to happen. It’s a time like this when you know that investment has paid off. When you invest in these teams of people, they step up when it is needed.”

Extent of damage not yet known — Phakeng

“We have not quantified the amount of damage but we know the HM Pearson, Fuller and  and Jagger Library buildings are where the huge damage is. We will quantify and assess the cost because the levels of damage are different.”

Resuming academic activities — Pillay 

”[On Sunday] the priority was taking all the necessary steps to ensure everybody was safe. Today [Monday] we resumed the process of assessing the extent of the damage. We need to get our operations back up again. We need to do that safely and in a responsible way. These issues are being discussed as a matter of urgency.” 

Devastating loss — Phakeng 

“We are devastated about the loss of our special collection in the library. It is things that we cannot replace but we will recover. UCT is not just for Cape Town, it’s for the country and the continent. The resources we had in the library were not only for us but the continent as well.”

Preparing for future incidents — Winde

“Now is the chance for us to learn how we can mitigate this going forward. There can be no better team than that of professors, architects and structural engineering. This is not the first fire we have had and we have to start to understand how this happens and mitigate the risks.”