Crematorium fire causes more grief
Bereaved families are being left out of pocket after another fire put the Mobeni Heights Crematorium out of action.
|||Durban - Funeral organisers are seething and bereaved families are being left out of pocket after a fire put the Mobeni Heights Crematorium out of action again.
Undertaker, Clive Moodley, was at the crematorium when the fire occurred at about 4:30pm on Saturday and said the new furnace, installed just last year, was affected.
The crematorium did have two furnaces but, said Moodley, the older furnace had not been in operation for some time. So now, the facility had been left with no working furnaces, he said.
Moodley was angry and said there had been “endless problems” experienced at the crematorium over the past several years.
“I don’t feel the municipality has any respect,” he said. “There is no space in the city’s cemeteries and so it has been encouraging cremations but it doesn’t even have the facilities.”
The city said on Tuesday that there had not been a fire, but that the furnace was smoking and apologised for the inconvenience.
The head of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Department, Thembinkosi Ngcobo, said getting the crematorium working again was being treated as urgent.
“I believe the new furnace overheated,” he said. “We are working on it.”
Ngcobo expressed grave concern.
“It is an essential service and even if we go without it for just one day, that places stress on us and the community. It is not right at all.
“Initially, we thought it might have to do with our staff but we are starting to suspect that it is, in fact, the equipment that is the issue,” he said.
He said the city had plans to build two more crematoriums and that the same company that had installed the new furnace at Mobeni Heights had put forward proposals.
“This is worrying because there is lack of skills so we have to rely on this company,” he said. “We might need some new ideas.”
Indeed, the crematorium has made headlines over the years.
Late last year, both furnaces were out of action and before that, community members said, there had been only one functioning furnace there for four years.
The Mobeni Heights Crematorium is the only council-run facility in Durban and when it goes down, bereaved families are forced to turn to the city’s much more expensive private crematoriums.
Last month, however, Willow Grove resident, Dhayalan Moodley wrote to the Daily News, saying he was in favour of the privatisation of the Mobeni Heights facility so service would be improved.
“It’s a known fact that Clare Estate Crematorium, which is a private service, is known for its professionalism and is considered the best-run crematorium in the country, with every member on the board having a hands-on approach in the running of the crematorium,” he wrote.
“If they have a breakdown of a furnace, within 12 hours it is repaired and ready for business. But should there be a breakdown at the Mobeni Heights Crematorium, it takes three years to repair and within two weeks of being repaired they have yet another breakdown.”
He also said that while privatisation would have its challenges, it would ultimately benefit the community.
bernadette.wolhuter@inl.co.za
Daily News