Fire and Rescue International Vol 3 No 1 by Fire and Rescue International

Integrated fire, rescue, EMS and incident command technology

Volume 3 No 1

Contents 2

Comment

Competition 3 FRI Images 4

Cover profile Brigit Group of Companies launches new premises

7 Brigit introduces GreenMist and EnviroMist T-rotor technology Letters 8 Letters to the editor 9

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014 Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014

News 16 Facelift for Durban Central Fire Station 18

North West FPA holds open day

Western Cape launches new fire emblem

ACSA receives four new 6x6 Rosenbauer Panthers

New R6,4 million centre for injured children

Fire fighting challenges faced in Nairobi

ACSA donates R2,8 million to NSRI

Super Group Trading partners with E-One

Working on Fire Fighting fire in the floral kingdom

Training 56 Training the heroes of tomorrow Heritage 58 History of the leather helmet Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital 59 Children’s Hospital Trust alleviates funding burden of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital What’s on? 62 Fire, disaster and rescue related events across the globe Poem 64 “Thank you for your service” - by Sarah Marine

27 Port St Johns Municipality receives life guard equipment 28 Ekurhuleni launches Zonkizizwe Fire Station Gauteng holds fire norms and standards workshop 29 Johannesburg EMS receives new fleet 30 Provinces compare USAR arrangements - by Etienne du Toit 31

African Rope Access Championships 2014

Vehicle extrication 32 Managing vehicle underride extrications - by Colin Deiner 36

Fire service Overstrand Fire and Rescue: small, passionate and evolving

Betty’s Bay volunteer fire fighters

Pringle Bay volunteer community fire fighters

From reserve fire fighter to CFO

Incident command 46 Why incident command? - A history lesson - by Reinard Geldenhuys 49

Emergency medical services Langamed - 150 years of serving

32 Volume 3 No. 1

Comment Editor Lee Raath-Brownie lee@fireandrescue.co.za Cell 082 371 0190 Journalist Alexandra Rose-Innes edit@fireandrescue.co.za Cell 071 641 3884 Advertising Marinda-Ann Vercellotti advertising@fireandrescue.co.za Cell 079 107 3967 Design and layout Marc Raath marc@fireandrescue.co.za Finance Noddie Knibbs accounts@fireandrescue.co.za Circulation Vicki Jacob subs@fireandrescue.co.za Secretary Vicki Jacob pa@fireandrescue.co.za Administration Mirriam Moroane Contributions Africa Colin Deiner Donald Sparks Etienne du Toit Reinard Geldenhuys

FRI Images photographic competition A photograph honouring a 1974 Bedford fire truck prior to restoration won one of our readers the competition this month. See page 3 for details. CONGRATULATIONS! Submit your high-resolution photograph featuring a rescue, emergency, incident or fire scene and win R2 000 cash! News section The Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014 competition held in Cape Town dominates our news section. Durban Central Fire Station’s facelift, ACSA’s new aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) tenders, new local agents for E-One and North West Umbrella Fire Protection Association’s open day also features. We look into Nairobi’s fire fighting challenges and celebrate the new Zonkizizwe Fire Station opening and hand over of 20 ambulances to Johannesburg Emergency Services. Vehicle extrication The management of vehicle underride extrications is detailed by Colin Deiner, who addresses the intricacies of these challenging collisions. Deiner describes response and scene safety as well as stabilisation. The importance of training for these complex extrications is also highlighted. Fire service Overstrand Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management hosted Fire and Rescue International (FRI) and we interviewed its chief fire officer, Lester Smith and station commander, Angelo Aplon, amongst others. We profile this small but passionate service and overview it risk profile, major incidents, resources and challenges. Incident command New to our line-up is a monthly contribution on incident command (IC) written by Reinard Geldenhuys of Overberg District Municipality. In the introduction to IC, Geldenhuys sketches the background and history of incident command and explains the reasoning for its implementation. Emergency medical service (EMS) FRI profiles Langamed Emergency Management and outlines its services, operations, staff complement and vehicles and equipment. We briefly profile Langamed’s coowners and share its social responsibility programme.

Subscriptions 12 editions per annum

Heritage The history of the leather helmet is documented in our heritage section and we share this age-old tradition and its roots with our readers.

South Africa R285 per annum incl VAT Non-subscribers: R35 incl VAT per issue

We value the support we receive from our readers and advertisers and invite you to share your opinion with us! Fire and Rescue International is your magazine. Read it, use it and share it!

Lee Raath-Brownie Cover profile Brigit Systems, a proudly South African company, launched its new GreenMist rotor technology at its new premises in Honeydew, Gauteng. Our front cover features this innovative company, its people, products and services. Donald Sparks, ex fire chief of City of Cape Town, wrote to us to set the record straight regarding the colours of fire engines in South Africa.

Publisher Lee Raath-Brownie FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL Tel 011 452 3135/6 Fax 086 671 6920 Box 8299 Greenstone 1616

Southern Africa (airmail) R480 per annum

Our 25th edition! Proudly serving those who serve. Fire and Rescue International (FRI) continues to keep our readers updated with local and international news and events, technical issues and product updates. Our profiles include a small fire service with a big heart and its CFO, a training centre and an emergency medical service. Trust you will enjoy reading and sharing this edition!

Volume 3 No. 1

Training Our featured training centre is the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services Training Academy in Boksburg, Gauteng and we profile its facilities, trainers and courses offered.

Lee Raath-Brownie Publisher

Images

This month’s FRI images winner! Congratulations to Kevin Richards for his photograph ‘Blushing but proud fire truck’ taken with a Canon 650D with a Canon EF-S 18-200mm lens, ISO-400, a shutter speed of 1/640th of a second, a focal length of 20mm and an aperture 8 F-stop.

Well done!

Photo description: The photograph was originally submitted by Johan van den Heever of the Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa (FPASA) on behalf of Kevin Richards. The 1974 Bedford was acquired last year by FPASA for refurbishment as part of the organisation’s fire industry preservation projects. The photo captures the final ‘before’ image prior to the vehicle going in for full restoration.

Kevin Richards wins this month’s prize money of R 2 000!

Submit your rescue, fire or EMS photo and win R2 000! Fire and Rescue International’s (FRI) monthly photographic competition is open to all its readers and offers you the opportunity of submitting your digital images of fires, fire fighters, disasters, emergencies and rescues.

The rules are simple: • • • • • • • •

All photographs submitted must be in jpeg format and not bigger than 4 megabytes. Photographs must be in high resolution (minimum 1500 pixels on the longest edge @ 300dpi) for publishing purposes Allowed: cropping, curves, levels, colour saturation, contrast, brightness, sharpening but the faithful representation of a natural form, behaviour or phenomenon must be maintained. Not allowed: cloning, merging/photo stitching, layering of two photos into one final frame, special effects digital filters. Fire and Rescue International (FRI) reserves the right to publish (printed or digitally) submitted photographs with acknowledgement to the photographer. Winners will be chosen on the merit of their photograph. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into afterwards. Brief description should accompany photo.

Entries must include:

Name of photographer Contact details (not for publishing) Email: (not for publishing) Name of photograph Brief description of photograph including type of fire Camera, lens and settings used

All entries must be emailed to: lee@fireandrescue.co.za.

>>ENTER NOW! Volume 3 No. 1

Cover profile

Brigit Group managing director, Deon van Zyl and operations director, Johan Henning

Brigit Group of Companies launches new premises

rigit Group of Companies, a proudly South African company, is not only a product distributor and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) but offers clients a one source total fire protection package that includes education, fire detection, fire containment protection and fire suppression.

manufacturing and developing our business with our partners.”

The company is headed up by Deon van Zyl as managing director and Johan Henning as operations director. Part of the company’s mission is to outline uniform and international standards for South Africa, as well as other African countries.

The Brigit Group is also associated with the Fire Mist Association Africa (FMAA), which is a newly-formed association, still in its infant stages but set to standardise the mist suppression industry in Africa.

Van Zyl started Brigit Fire in 2006 and in 2008 Johan Henning joined and Brigit Systems was formed. The company has since grown and now employs 32 people. The recent move to its current premises is evident of the company’s rapid growth and development. New premises Van Zyl said at the recent launch of the new premises, “Our long term plans for the future will be more involved with researched and development, 4

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Van Zyl continued, “We have moved our focus from being just distributors to being an original equipment manufacturer, developing our own products.” Brigit’s OEM range includes Greenmist, Greenmist enhancer, Brigit227, Envirogen and Enviromist.

Product and services The product range and services provided by the Brigit Group provides fire detection, suppression and prevention, ensuring equipment compatibility and comprehensive integrated solutions according to specific needs of clients and includes: • Fire suppression systems • Conventional and addressable fire detection • High sensitivity smoke detection (HSSD) • Fire containment protection

• Fixed suppression systems • Complete system design and specifications • Onsite and offsite refill • Room integrity testing • Product training Fire suppression The fire suppression products range varies from gas suppression to watermist suppression. The products are of the highest quality and conform to all international standards. Using various types of suppression systems allow for client’s needs to be met and types of hazards to be covered and include: • Inert gas systems – IG55 and IG541 • Clean agent systems – Novec1230/HFC 227 • Watermist – EnviroMist/GreenMist • Incabinet suppression – Novec1230/HFC 227 • Kitchen systems – EnviroMist T-Rotor technology • Vehicle systems – EnviroMist T-Rotor technology Detection and suppression Brigit also supplies a specialist range of smoke detection products that varies from conventional gas extinguishing panels to state-of-

Cover profile

The recent launch at Brigitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new premises in Honeydew the-art touch screen analogue addressable systems. The panels are manufactured in the United Kingdom (UK) and comply with all required third party approvals and standard requirements in Africa. The EP203 three-zone, automatic extinguishing panel has been specifically designed for use in areas housing expensive, dangerous or irreplaceable items of equipment or data. Early detection is a necessity to limit the damage caused by fire and Wagner has developed a range of high sensitivity smoke detection (HSSD) systems namely Titanus that utilises a highly-developed optical sensor. Pointtype detectors can be limited in its function, so Wagner uses its patented air sampling smoke detection systems that can provide very high sensitivity detection from a small smoke sample. Many application problems have already been successfully solved using air sampling. The Brigit Group also supplies 3M firestopping solutions. The 3M range is subject to stringent testing and code developments and offers reliable, cutting-edge and fully integrated systems. These systems are designed to help with the efficient construction

of safer buildings that help protect lives and property. One of the new products in Brigitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OEM product range is EnviroMist, which is ideal for use as a kitchen fire suppression system and uses water and enhanced water. The restaurant fire suppression systems uses reverse osmosis (RO) water as agent, fewer nozzles and higher nozzle height offering around the clock protection with automatic detection. The three detection options available is fusible links, linear pneumatic and linear fusible link. EnviroMist is also used in vehicle fire suppression systems for all shapes and sizes of vehicles. Fire suppression and mining equipment are alike in that one size does not fit all. EnviroMist vehicle fire suppression systems are scalable to match the specific needs of the equipment and optimise efficiency. Brigit provides complete system design and flow calculations making use of sophisticated and proven computer programs specially developed for gaseous systems and is designed in accordance with ISO 14520. Full system specifications with

designs assist consultant engineers on tender requirements. All gaseous systems provided by Brigit are designed to international standards and approvals and are approved, designed and tested with full component test and discharged test approved by international bodies. Clean agent pumping systems The clean agent pumping system (CAPS) fill/recharge station is an easy to use, highly portable pumping and pressurisation system. This closed filling operation provides an approved method for filling and pressurisation. This system eliminates the need to remove agent storage cylinders requiring service by providing the user with a lightweight, tray-mounted pump that can be taken into the field. All components are housed in a durable rolling case for ease of transportation from site to site. Brigitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in-house recharge station will ensure that systems are recharged in a fast and professional manner. Technicians are ready to provide recharge services 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can typically have the system back in full operation within 24 hours of the system discharge. Volume 3 No. 1

Cover profile The airflow required to establish this pressure is measured and the process is repeated in the other direction. These two readings are used by the computer software to calculate the size of any openings in the enclosure and the resultant agent loss rate that would occur after discharge. An accurate pass would be more than 10 minutes room integrity.

The people behind Brigit Group of Companies Room integrity testing Personnel are certified in the testing of room integrity, using the door fan test units from Retrotec. The Retrotec system has two types of panel systems than temporarily seal off a doorway in the enclosure so

Brigitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new premises in Honeydew

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that the variable speed blower can be installed. First, the static pressure existing across the doorway is measured, then the blower is turned on to pressurise the enclosure to the maximum pressure that could occur following the agent discharge.

Training Training is offered on a monthly basis and can be booked online at the website www.brigit.co.za/ members. The training provides an in-depth knowledge of flow calculations and system design. After training one should be able to compile an accurate quote and have the knowledge to design a standard room with fire suppression. Brigit also offers access to its online quotation system. Hands-on training in the technical installation of Brigitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products are also provided providing knowledge to complete installations and commission products according to the standard and product requirements.

Cover profile

Brigit introduces GreenMist and EnviroMist T-rotor technology

rigit Fire, a proudly South African company, has launched its GreenMist and EnviroMist T-Rotor technology, which allows the generation of water mist from the mixture of water and gas generated inside rotor and delivered to a specially designed collision nozzle. The smallest example of the application of the RotorMist technology is a mist fire extinguisher. There is a rotor with two tubes inside the cylinder. The centrallypositioned tube is connecting the rotor to the valve and is transporting the mixture of liquid and gas to the mist generating nozzle. The second tube with specially designed holes opens as the fluid level is decreasing. This tube then supplies compressed gas (Nitrogen) to the rotor from the top. The water is delivered at the same pressure from the bottom of the rotor. After opening, the component inside the rotor begins to turn through pressure from the valve, generating the mixture of pressurised gas and water in a piston method. The rotation speed, which depends on the flow, stabilises the pressure of the mixture to between three to four bar. The mixture of water and pressurised gas is forced through the holes in the nozzle so that the water streams collide, generating a dynamic stream of mist. This set up allows stable operation of the system until the pressure in the tank drops below its ideal mix.

The smallest example of the application of the RotorMist technology is a mist fire extinguisher Maintaining the ratio of water to gas inside the cylinder at one to two thirds ensures that the water is fully utilised and most importantly, the mist generated has the same consistency throughout the operation. The same system will apply when used in a larger arrangement with several rotors in a single cylinder or several rotors in numerous cylinders in a manifold. The number of individual rotors in the system will depend on the type and number of nozzles. GreenMist and EnviroMist applications include: • M achinery ie mine vehicles and

Brigit trademarked GreenMist and EnvironMist T-rotor technology

industrial machinery • Special risk ie Styrofoam cutting line, hydraulic packs, tyres and turbines • Fixed systems ie kitchen and engine protection • Electrical systems ie distribution boxes, electrical cabinets and transformers The GreenMist and EnviroMist product range consist of standard three and six –litre handheld extinguishers in water and foam; 12-litre backpacks that are available in either water or foam; specialised foam mist trolleys with special mist nozzles and fixed systems for kitchens or vehicles.

A typical installation for a kitchen suppression system

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Letters drove straight into pump/ladder, causing severe injury to himself and major damage to his motor car and the Douglas Carmichael. The driver later claimed that he did not see the lime green vehicle and had mistaken its warning devices for those of the leading vehicle that he had allowed to pass.

Letters

read with interest the article “Why red fire engines?” by Lenny Naidoo in Volume 2 Number 11 edition of Fire and Rescue International. In his closing paragraph he states that “eThekwini Fire Service in the Durban Metropolitan area was probably the first fire service in South Africa to acquire a lime green ladder pumper in the 1980s.” In fact, Port Elizabeth Fire and Emergency Service had a lime green pump/ladder in 1974. Chief officer Brian headed a very innovative fire service in Port Elizabeth during the 1970s and 1990s. Every week senior officers allocated two days a week to research and development. Experimentation with colour schemes was one of the many ground-breaking developments to come out of Port Elizabeth during those years. Other research included the development of high rise kits, large scale trials with foam generation using fresh water versus salt water, the development of foam induction boxes, helicopter procedures and training for all operational staff, linking several stations by computer, the manufacture of gastight and chemical splash suits, the construction of a purpose built operational training centre and so on. Many of these things are common today but back in the 1970s, Brian Estment’s team were in the vanguard of fire service development in South Africa. Some of their concepts were even taken up by overseas fire services. However, back to the experimentation with colour schemes for fire vehicles. The Port Elizabeth trials were actually three pronged – lime green, ‘Day-Glo’ orange and a red/white combination. Ironically, given that the whole idea was to increase the visibility of responding vehicles, both the lime green and the ‘Day-Glo’ orange experiments ended in collisions with private vehicles. Based on research, which had been carried out in the United Kingdom and the United States, chief officer Brian Estment decided to have a Douglas Carmichael pump/ladder, based at Sidwell Fire Station, sprayed lime green. The visual effect was rather dazzling but firemen and members public found it hard to accept the departure from the traditional red. Strange as it may seem, the highly visible vehicle was badly damaged at an intersection while proceeding to a fire behind another pump/ladder. The driver of a private motor car heeded the right-of-way to the first fire engine and watched it continue to his left. Not aware that the lime green Douglas Carmichael pump/ladder was in hot pursuit with its sirens blaring, the careless motorist 8

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Not daunted, chief officer Estment continued with the trial but changed the colour to ‘Day-Glo’ orange in use on some aircraft and helicopters in service with the South African Air Force. The bright, almost fluorescent, orange was highly visible, even at night but, once again, it was a colour that was hard to accept. In addition, the paint was far more expensive than conventional paint and tended to fade fairly quickly. The chief’s response car, a Ford Granada and three pump/ladders were painted in the ‘Day-Glo’ scheme. While responding to an incident involving an LP Gas tanker, chief officer Estment’s car was struck by a private vehicle, again at an intersection. The driver of the private car drove past five other motor cars that had stopped to heed the right-of-way to Estment and drove straight into the response car. The Chief was unconscious when removed from the wreckage but recovered after a stay in hospital. The occupant of the other vehicle suffered only minor injuries. Surprisingly, despite the fact that five other vehicles had stopped, the driver responsible for the accident, claimed that he had not seen the ‘DayGlo’ fire car, even though it was broad daylight. It was finally decided to retain the traditional, fire engine red but to augment the livery with a broad white stripe running across the front and down the sides of each vehicle. Fire fighting vehicles were also fitted with additional low level, red warning lights in the front together with two more red warning lights at the rear. A short while earlier, a newspaper reporter had driven into the back of a stationary fire engine at night at the intersection and claimed that he had not seen the fire engine in his headlights. To complete the exercise, the words ‘FIRE and BRAND’ in red, reflective, reverse writing were positioned in the white stripe on the front of the each vehicle so that it could be seen in the rear view mirror of a motor vehicle in front of a fire engine. The words ‘FIRE and BRAND’, in large, red, reflective lettering, were also affixed within the white stripe on the sides of each vehicle, near the front, so that it could be seen from the side, as a fire engine attempted to ‘nose’ into traffic. In due course, the combination of red and white together with additional red warning lights and lettering became the standard livery for the entire Port Elizabeth fleet. Thereafter, it was very difficult for anyone to claim that they could not see a fire engine during the day or at night. Yours faithfully, Donald Sparks PS: At the time of these developments I was an assistant chief fire officer in Port Elizabeth.

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive Strap 2014

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014

The 2014 Toughest Fire Fighter Alive entrants

of Cape Town, Drakenstein, Eden, eThekwini, Buffalo City, Mangaung, Midvaal, Overstrand, Gauteng, Stellenbosch, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and Working on Fire (WoF). City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue chief fire officer (CFO), Ian Schnetler, was the only CFO that entered the challenge.

were then added together for the total time. The event was open to all fire fighters whose primary function is fire fighting and have been trained in the use of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The competition included individual challenges, a relay challenge and a team challenge.

Fire fighters representing fire services across South Africa took part in the prestigious event and included City

The competition was sponsored by Steers, amongst others and consisted of four disciplines, each discipline being timed separately for each competitor. The times

A parade by the competitors kicked off the proceedings followed by a warm welcome by a very vocal Toivo Ngqwebo, emergency communicator at Goodwood Fire

Alderman JP Smith

CFO Ian Schnetler

Reverend Linda Idas

nthusiasm and camaraderie ran high during the recentlyheld Toughest Fire Fighter Alive (TFA) South Africa 2014 competition. This annual event, hosted by the City of Cape Town in conjunction with the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service, was held over a two-day period at the Good Hope Centre in Cape Town on 6 and 7 June this year.

Volume 3 No. 1

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014

Toivo Ngqwebo

The hose drag

Station, who was the master of ceremonies and encouraged the competitors through hype, sarcasm and bantering. Reverend Linda Idas, Fire Service Chaplain, opened the event with a scripture reading and prayer. Chief fire officer for City of Cape Town, Ian Schnetler, addressed the participants, sponsors and spectators and congratulated the participants for entering the strenuous competition and said, “We are all having fun here and competing against each other but we must not forget that it’s about saving lives.” Schnetler also commented on the increase in the number of participants and remarked on the rivalry amongst the various teams. Steers representative, Lachè Samuels said that Steers was proud to be the major sponsor of South Africa’s Toughest Fire Fighter Alive competition. She continued, “We make the flames and you spend your time putting it out”. Also speaking at the opening, member of the mayoral committee 10

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for City of Cape Town’s Alderman JP Smith said that people admire fire fighters for their courage and discipline. “You are the role models for our children”, said Alderman Smith. He continued, “Fire is a demanding job. I have turned up for a number of the fire incidents and was reminded of its arduous nature time and time again.”

Steers’ Lachè Samuels

Mark Smith, station commander at Milnerton Fire Station, thanked the sponsors and all the people that were instrumental in the event and, in addressing the participants, said that it wasn’t only about winning but also about the camaraderie. The course The first stage to be performed included a 10-metre run then couple two lengths of 64mm hose to a fire appliance followed by a hose drag with two hoses comprising three 64mm hose lengths each over 90 metres, run 20 metres, then roll two 30-metre lengths of 64mm hose on the male coupling, carry it and place in the designated box.

Mark Smith

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014

The ladies received no privileges so competed on equal footing

The hose drag distance was 80 metres

Rolling up two 30-metre lengths of hose

Preparation for the hose drag

Concentration!

Hoses need to fit properly

The hose roll

Putting the hoses in the designated box

Manie Gouws preparing

The arduous Keiser Force machine

Carrying a foam drum over 60 metres

Preparation

Second stage included a dummy drag Volume 3 No. 1

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014

The second stage was an obstacle course that included hitting the weight across the Keiser Force machine with a sledgehammer; carrying a foam drum for 60 metres that included two passes through a 10-metre tunnel; dragging a 80kg dummy over 80 metres and finishing off with a three-metre high wall climb.

Rescue Randy weighs 80kg

The tower challenge followed third and involved carrying two ladders, one at a time, pitching against the wall; carrying a foam container to the top of the 8,5-metre tower; hoisting up two rolled 65mm hose lengths to the top of the tower; carry the foam drum back down to ground level and screwing on a nozzle on a ground monitor.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about the grip

Mastering the wall

A ladder phase was added to stage three 12

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Up the tower with 20kgs of foam concentrate

Scaling the wall

The last stage was the stair climb with SCBA that took place at the community centre. Fire and Rescue International congratulates the winners on their incredible achievements and commends all the participants. See you next year!

Encouraging their teams

And over he goes!

Hoisting two lengths of hose up the tower

Mastering the tower

The three-metre wall is tougher to climb than it looks

2013 and 2014 winner, Emile Conrad and his wife Bonita

Strenuous hoisting of the two hose lengths

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014 Male Competitor 18-29 Female Competitor 18-29 1st E Confrad Eden 07:54.00 1st P Mpungose Ethekwini 2nd Gumede Ethekwini 08:47.00 2nd S Mbanjwa Ethekwini 3rd R Abrahams Cape Town 09:09.00 3rd M T Mmathebehae Manguang

22:34.00 22:47.00 28:07.00

Male Competitor 30-34 Female Competitor 30-34 1st S Mjana Ethekwini 09:11.00 1st M Fourie Eden 2nd F Shangase Ethekwini 10:59.00 2nd X Abdool Ethekwini 3rd C Conradie Ethekwini 11:05.00 3rd

15:18.00 24:33.00 -

Male Competitor 35-39 Female Competitor 35-39 1st M Gouws Gauteng 08:10.00 1st Ntombenkosi Stellenbosch 32:55.00 2nd C Bishop Ethekwini 09:09.00 2nd 3rd R Van Der Berg Cape Town 09:20.00 3rd Male Competitor 40-44 Female Competitor 40-44 1st D Van Niekerk Eden 09:28.00 1st G Masango Ethekwini 2nd S Maloy Cape Town 12:24.00 2nd 3rd M Moloro Ethekwini 12:26.00 3rd Male Competitor 45-49 Female Relay 1st Van Deventer Manguang 10:50.00 1st 2nd S Woolstencroft Cape Town 10:50.00 2nd 3rd Krupanandham Ethekwini 19:05.00 3rd Male Competitor 50-54 Overall Positions Female 1st K Mofokeng Ethekwini 24:07.00 1st Marinda Fourie 2nd I Schnetler Cape Town 26:01.00 2nd P Mpungose 3rd W Prince Buffolo City 27:42.00 3rd S Mbanjwa

Eden Ethekwini Ethekwini

26:01.00 -

15:18.00 22:34.00 22:47.00

Male Competitor 55-59 Female Overall Team Winner (best 4 competitors average) 1st - 1st Ethekwini 23:54 (average) 2nd 3rd Male Overall Positions Female Team Relay Open 1st Emile Conrad Eden 07:54.00 1st Ethekwini 2nd Manie Gouws Gauteng 08:10.00 3rd S C Gumede Ethekwini 08:47.00

15:50.00

Male Overall Team Winner (Best 4 competitors average) 1st Ethekwini 9:29 (average) Male Team Relay Open 1st Team 3 Eden 2nd Ethekwini 3rd Ethekwini

08:55.00 08:57.00 08:58.00

Team Relay Men Over 40 1st Ethekwini Over 40 2nd Ou Toppies 3rd

11:05.00 13:59.00 -

Volume 3 No. 1

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014

The tower is 8,5 metres high

The stair climb was the final stage

Cheering aided the competitors

Strong sportsmanship

City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue promoting fire safety

Final phase of stage three

Screwing on a nozzle to a ground monitor

Scott Safetyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jacques du Plessis and Denzil Norkie of MarcĂ¨ Fire Fighting Technology

The winners of the 2014 TFA: Emile Conrad and Marinda Fourie

Much needed support

P Mpungose (eThekwini), Marinda Fourie (Eden), S Mbanjwa (eThekwini)

SC Gumede (eThekwini), Emile Conrad (Eden), Manie Gouws (Gauteng)

Volume 3 No. 1

Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2014

David van Niekerk, Stanford Maloy, M Moloro

Rudi van der Berg, C Bishop, Manie Gouws

Marinda Fourie, Maria Tsosane Mmathebehae, X Abdool, G Masango

C Conradie, S Mjana, F Shangase

Bonita Conrad, S Mbanjwa, P Mpungose

SC Gumede, Emile Conrad, Ryan Abrahams

The eThekwini ladies relay team

Team relay men over 40, second place, The Ou Toppies

Team relay men over 40, first place, eThekwini Over 40

Team relay open men, third place, eThekwini Alpha

Team relay open men, second place, eThekwini Bravo

Team relay open men, first place, Team 3 Eden Volume 3 No. 1

News

Facelift for Durban Central Fire Station Warwick Junction being redeployed to other stations in Durban. Fire fighters were deployed to fire stations in Congella, Jacobs, Durban North and Pinetown. The redeployment of staff and equipment was done according to each area’s risk profile. “ The departments large water carrier is to be stationed at the o Pinetown fire station while the chemical incident unit and heavy rescue unit will be based at the Jacobs fire station,” stated TeWater. The renovation is the largest since the construction of the station in 1952, CFO TeWater said. Senior manager of support services, Lance Ravidutt, said preparations began in March 2014 and the building contractor moved on site in May.

Durban Central Fire Station in its heyday Photo credit: Alwyn Burger

ore than R4 million will be invested in a muchneeded renovation of the 62-year-old Durban Central Fire Station situated in eThekwini Metro in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The project is expected to be completed by March 2015 and was necessitated by the the existing station having outgrown its ability to cater for the needs of an expanding Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Service intent on delivering life-dependent services to its community.. The eThekwini fire and emergency services unit has found it increasingly difficult to function effectively against the current lack of building, office, storage, parking space and other facilities at its present location. It should be noted that a fire station operates on a 24/7 basis and has heavy plant and equipment moving through it on a regular basis, subjecting it to stresses not generally experienced in other types of buildings. The existing premises accommodates the administrative and finance section, human resources, fire safety, the main uniform and equipment stores and the central regional command areas of the fire service. The centralisation of various functions compounded

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the overcrowding problem. The rapid development within the municipal area , including high-rise apartment blocks, the Ushaka Marine World and ongoing development of the Moses Mabhida stadium, has necessitated the department acquiring additional specialist vehicles to provide cover for the increased and diverse risk profile. The additional high-value vehicles and other specialised equipment not only need to be housed under cover, but also impacts on the department’s storage and parking space requirements. . The growth in the city means that more building plans need to be reviewed which again implies a greater number of visitors to the units Fire Safety Branch who are responsible for engaging on projects from a fire safety perspective. Chief fire officer Mark TeWater assurance the public that emergency fire services will not be hampered by the work being done on the fire station. “When we say the fire station is closed, it does not mean the service has stopped. It will just be delivered from a different location,” he confirmed. The refurbishment has led to the 120 fire fighters based at the station in

The first floor will be gutted and reconfigured to provide improved locker and ablution facilities for male and female fire fighters as well as individual quarters for officers. Public access will be restricted to the front apron and the reconfigured security will provide more controlled access to the rear apron and drill yard. Ravidutt added that the roof tiles and bricks from the demolished gym building would be used to repair other buildings. The 10-engine bay doors would be replaced with lightweight fast-opening ones that roll up within three seconds, allowing fire engines to get out of the bay faster to get to emergencies more rapidly and additionally contribute to less damage being sustained to responding appliances through door failure. Land behind the station on Winterton Walk has been secured and construction has begun on additional engine bays to house the reserve fleet, which had been parked outside. Staff quarters including the mess room, the lecture facility and gym are also being upgraded as part of the project ensuring that staff have access to modern facilities needed to maintain an efficient and contented workforce. Plans to refurbish the Hammarsdale and Prospecton fire stations within the next three years are also in the pipeline.

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News

North West FPA holds open day

The event was attended by 11 982 spectators

n open day aimed at raising public awareness was held by the North West Umbrella Fire Protection Association (NWUFPA) in Tlokwe, North West Province, South Africa, recently. The event was attended by 11 982 spectators who were entertained with a jam-packed program of displays and demonstrations. It was supported by many different spheres of public safety including South African Police Service narcotics dogs, mounted academy, flying squad, Tlokwe Municipality Fire Brigade and Working on Fire (WoF). Live demonstrations Visitors were entertained by several demonstrations, including a simulated car hijacking. The hijacking ‘suspect’ ran away and was tracked down by the dog unit. A vehicle extrication by the Tlokwe Fire Department followed, with ER24 ambulances and a medi-helicopter arriving to lift the patient. Sniffer dogs were used to locate contraband in the vehicle. The excitement continued when the vehicle caught fire and started a wildfire that had to be extinguished by the WoF Huey chopper as well as ground teams.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the foam

Part of the day’s focus was to introduce Working on Fire to the people of the area, especially the previously disadvantaged community. Some local schools attended and the children were taught the dangers of fires and given knowledge about public safety and the do’s and don’ts relating to fire safety to share with their communities. The WoF teams also gave a drill performance. The NWUFPA aims to bring all emergency services together with events such as these. In almost every emergency situation more than one emergency service responds together at a scene, making cooperation between state departments, private sector companies and private individuals vital.

Tlokwe Fire Department performed a vehicle extrication

The WoF Huey and aerial demonstration always attracts people

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One of the main objectives of the event was to increase awareness of the local FPA in regard to rules and

The WoF team drill

Western Cape launches new fire emblem Style #611 Multi-Purpose Remote Controlled Monitor Remote Controlled Monitors Station Monitor 3" Waterway Adjustable Flow Baffles for Various Flows

The Western Cape Government (WCG) in South Africa recently launched its new fire emblem. The redesign of the Fire Brigade and Rescue Services emblem was necessitated as the previous logo did not comply with the corporate identity (CI) requirements of the WCG.

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The main goals of the fire and rescue services are as follows: • Prevention: Reduce local risk through prevention and awareness • Protection: Improve local planning and preparedness • Response: Improve the fire and rescue services capability to respond to all hazards • Status: Improve the fire brigade services professional status.

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regulations surrounding the fire danger index (FDI) and firebreaks. The benefits of membership of the FPA were explained to land owners as well as individuals and private companies in the rural community. The highlight of the day was an aerial display by FFA Aviation pilots followed by parachute jumpers entering Stylewith #605the national flag. the arena Station MonitorSemase and Fire chief Ditaba 2" Waterway fire protection officer (FPO) Attie 400 GPM Booysen, both of Potchefstroom, took the salute while the crowd sang the national anthem. Features

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Corrosion Resistant The visitors were also givenBrass an ConstructionVertical V Movement Is By Worm Gear #600the pilots and opportunity Style to meet V Vertical Gear Fully Enclosed To Mechanism From Elements Full 2” Vaned V W Waterway to Improve Stream Performance Personal Portable Monitor see the helicopter up close. 360 Horizontal And 130 Vertical V Travel-70 Above to 60 Below 2-1/2" Inlet X 2-1/2" Outlet Single Waterway W for Low Friction LossHorizontal 622-1 500 GPM demonstration given Grease Fittings For All Lubrication

Skilled parachute jumpers amazed the crowd

A foam 360° Horizontal, 150° Vertical Travel T Features by the Tlokwe Fire Department Compact Size. Low Profile Tel: 011 791 0550/1/2/3 was thoroughly enjoyed byAttack Simple Operate Like Handline While Delivering Much Positive TFeatures Twist Lock onthe theOperation, Vertical and Horizontal T Painted Travel Standard Unit Red More 94 different children. Altogether, Highly Maneuverable Durable, Lightweight Aluminum Construction Ball Bearing Swivel Joints Easy Options/Accessories Operation exhibitors participated and the for Master Stream Nozzle Low Profile Design for Stable Operation Dual Application -Use As Portable Monitor or Add the Top event was a huge success. Unmanned Operation at Fire Scene Save Manpower Master Stream Foam Nozzle Suitable for MostFlange Industrial forEnvironments Deck Mount Use

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News

ACSA receives four new 6x6 Rosenbauer Panthers

Two of the four new Rosenbauer 6x6 Panthers delivered to ACSA

irports Company South Africa (ACSA) became the proud owners of four new state-of-the art 6x6 Rosenbauer Panther airport crash tenders at a ceremony held at South Africa’s Port Elizabeth International Airport in May this year. The event included a donation of more than

R2,8 million to South Africa’s National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) by ACSA’s corporate social investment partnership, which was received by Dr Cleeve Robertson, CEO of NSRI. ACSA’s Thabo Phateng welcomed all and said that ACSA was proud to receive the new Rosenbauer 6x6 Panther aircraft

rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) tenders and increase airport safety. Airport manager for Port Elizabeth International Airport (PEIA), Azad Cassim, said that the purchase of the new vehicles formed part of the regional airports replacement programme of ARFF tenders as per the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) services manual where it is

Selvin Meyer

Azad Cassim

Klaus Hörschläger

Volume 3 No. 1

News

Proud airport managers and fire chiefs receiving the keys to their new Rosenbaur Panthers from Klaus HĂśrschlĂ¤ger. The vehicles were handed over to George, East London, Bran Fischer and Port Elizabeth International airport.

Port Elizabeth International Airport hosted the event

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News these vehicles are state-of-the-art, highspeed, very modern, with full rescue capabilities and a water supply of 10 000 litres,” said Cassim. Chief fire officer at for Port Elizabeth International Airport Fire and Rescue, Selvin Meyer, thanked all involved in the procurement process and the staff of Rosenbauer for their commitment. Meyer continued, “The four new Panthers will be allocated to ACSA regional airports in Port Elizabeth, George, East London and Bram Fischer International Airport in Bloemfontein.”

The water pump is a Rosenbaur R600 fire pump recommended that airport crash tenders should be replaced every 10 years. The airport’s replacement program further extends this by two years prolonging the ARFF apparatus’ lifespan to 12 years. There is also a relocation programme between regional airports in place. “Our vehicles needed to be replaced so

Klaus Hörschläger, Rosenbauer International’s regional vice president for international sales said that Rosenbauer was founded in 1866 and that the company has 2 500 employees in 110 counties worldwide. Hörschläger continued, “The 6x6 Panthers were built on Rosenbauer chassis and feature 700 horsepower engines according to ICAO specifications with a top speed of 115 kilometres per hour. The vehicles were tested in Austria prior to delivery.” Specifications The new Panthers boast turbocharged Caterpillar C18 six cylinder inline

engines with a power output of 700 horsepower at 1 800 revolutions per minute. The cab allows for a driver and five crew members. Four seats are equipped with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) sets. The body/tank construction and mounting is designed to guarantee safe on- and off-road performance. The water pump is a Rosenbauer R600 fire pump with a 6 200 litres per minute at 11 bar rated capacity and is capable of discharging total volume required by the roof and bumper turret, ground sweep nozzles, hand line nozzles and under truck nozzles discharging simultaneously at designed pressures. The water tank capacity is 10 000 litres; the foam compound tank 1 200 litres and the dry chemical powder unit 500 kilograms. The roof monitor’s reach is approximately 90 metres with a full discharge rating of 6 000 litres per minute at 10 bar while the bumper turret’s reach is 65 metres with a discharge rating of 1 500 litres per minute at 10 bar. The 36-ton vehicle’s acceleration is an impressive 0 to 80 kilometres per hour in 25 seconds, meeting ICAO’s requirements.

The 36-ton vehicle’s acceleration is an impressive 0 to 80 kilometres per hour in 25 seconds

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News

New R6,4 million centre for injured children

non-profit organisation that advocates for child safety nationally, Childsafe South Africa, opened its doors to a new R6,4 million centre in Cape Town, South Africa in May 2014. The Woolworths Childsafe Research and Educational Centre will accommodate staff and activities of Childsafe SA, which required increased infrastructure for its training and educational programmes. According to the Children’s Hospital Trust, an independent paediatric healthcare fundraising organisation, approximately 80 percent of injuries to children occur in or around the home. Childsafe previously held a modest office space at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town. The organisation has been conducting research, implementing educational programmes and campaigning for child safety since 1978. Their advocacy work has had significant and positive influence on legislation for children’s safety. Demonstration room The Children’s Hospital Trust raised the funds needed to build a freestanding centre for staff to continue their educational and skills training programmes for child safety and included in this building is a ‘Demonstration Room’ for the general public to learn how to safeguard their homes to prevent avoidable injuries to children. President of Childsafe South Africa and head of the Trauma Unit at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, Professor Sebastian van As, says that the Woolworths Childsafe Research and Educational Centre will be the first of its kind in Africa and play the central role in making South Africa safer for children. “As part of the educational purpose, the centre will incorporate the interior of a house demonstrating child safe designs and furnishing,” he says.

According to Van As, the global burden of childhood injuries is unequally distributed, with Sub-Saharan Africa being the worst affected. The Woolworths Trust, which donated R1 450 000 of the R6,4 million centre, is the key patron of this initiative, which will ensure Childsafe’s comprehensive child accident prevention programmes over the last 35 years continues to benefit the children of South Africa. “We are honoured to be part of this great initiative. Addressing child vulnerability is one of our priority focus areas for the Woolworths Trust. The centre will be the hub of much needed programmes and information to ensure a safer future for our children and generations to come,” says Woolworths head of transformation, Zinzi Mgolodela. Preventing burns The three main leading causes of child and adolescent deaths in South Africa are motor vehicle accidents, burns and drowning, all of which are preventable through education and awareness, according to Childsafe South Africa. The large and growing toll of child injury death, the progressive nature of childhood injuries and the frequently long-lasting effects of injury on children gave rise to the creation of Childsafe.

Sebastian van As Children’s Hospital Trust CEO Louise Driver says that children are the most vulnerable when it comes to easily preventable accidents due to their curious nature. “The Trust has funded this project in order to focus on prevention, as well as treatment in our quest to improve child healthcare and keep our children free of illness and injury. We anticipate a decrease in the amount of trauma admissions at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, with regard to child accidents, because of the informative programmes offered by this valuable centre.”

Sub-Saharan Africa is the worst affected region in cases of childhood injuries globally Volume 3 No. 1

News

Fire fighting challenges faced in Nairobi though the city claims to have three fire stations, only the central station has a fire engine.

Lack of resources affects Nairobian fire fighters’ efficiency

airobi’s Fire and Rescue Services are experiencing a lack of adequate equipment to fight fires in the city. The dangers of fire occurrences are a constant threat to Nairobians, who know very well just what it means to lose loved ones and property in an inferno. The tragedy of such losses and the resultant pain and grief are not things you easily forget. The public is accusing the service of inefficiency, unpreparedness, lack of capacity and insuffient equipment to deal with the risks at hand. Local newspaper, The Nairobian reports that the loss of life, disfigurement of survivors, psychological scarring and millions of shillings that have gone up in smoke, have shattered the dreams of many and tested the willpower of even the most resolute. This is easily confirmed by a random check at the Central Fire Station that lays bare the sorry state of fire engines that have been grounded for years. “As a department, we have many engines, each specialised to handle emergencies like fires, explosions and road accidents,” said Jacton Mboya, assistant director at Nairobi City Council Fire and Rescue Services. “At the moment, there are

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two vehicles for fire fighting, one for road accidents and the other for emergencies in high-rise buildings,” said Mboya. Nairobi City Council (NCC) has many fire apparatus but most are non-operational due to mechanical problems. One fire engine donated by the US Government following bombing on 7 August 1998, has been out of operation for the last three years due to unavailability of parts locally. The NCC 2014/2015 budget has allocated Sh100 million for three fire engines and Sh20 million for the construction of two fire stations. “We made these recommendations to the budget committee as a department. We are glad some of our requests were granted,” Mboya said. “These new engines will be essential, since we respond to distress calls from as far as Thika and Mavoko towns.” It seems the equipment is not the only problem facing the fire fighting department. According to Mboya, there are only 154 fire fighters currently in the country. This is way below the optimum number of required fire fighters, which he says should not be less than 500. According to the now defunct Parliamentary Local Authority Committee, there were only 30 active fire engines in the entire country in 2012. Mboya says new fire stations should be distributed throughout the county to decentralise the department’s services. He calls for stations in areas such as Kasarani, Embakasi and other far-flung locations to reduce response time. At the moment, even

The other two stations are in Industrial Area and Ruaraka. “If you look at the distribution of these stations and rate and manner at which the city is expanding, you realise that three engines cannot adequately service three million residents,” Mboya said. “The main station was built in 1907 and the one in Industrial Area in 1956. No other station has been built since, despite hundreds of buildings coming up and the city’s population growing to around five million.” The Ruaraka fire station is a partnership between East African Breweries (EABL) and the NCC. EABL provides the premises, while NCC is supposed to equip the station. “Whenever there is an emergency, say in Dandora or Kayole, it takes quite some time for the fire engines to manoeuvre through traffic,” Mboya said. “Some motorists have also been unwilling to give way to fire engines responding to an emergency, even though this is an offence. “Imagine the amount of time, property and lives that could be saved if we had fully-equipped stations in those areas,” stated Mboya. With 60 percent of the city’s population living in informal settlements, Mboya said that slums pose an even greater challenge for fire fighters. Water hydrants “A fire engine might promptly respond to an emergency, but then fails to access the fire due to congestion and lack of access roads, which are characteristic of these areas. In situations where our engines can’t access the fire in slums, we ask residents to destroy structures around the fire to curtail its spread,” he says. There are no water hydrants in slums and the few that you may find, are always dry. The fire engines are

News

NSRI’s Justin Erasmus, Ian Grey, Dr Cleeve Robertson and Daniel Heimann

ACSA donates R2,8 million to NSRI

he National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) received a donation of R2 845 228-48 from the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) at a handover event in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The 2014 donation came from five ACSA coastal airports that consists of King Shaka International, George, East London, Port Elizabeth International and Cape Town International and included ACSA’s platinum membership of NSRI. NSRI CEO, Dr Cleeve Robertson, said the donation was a major contribution to keep NSRI services running. “All

therefore always forced to exit the emergency areas to refill elsewhere, which is slow and inefficient. In addition, the fire fighters rarely receive warm reception in the slums. “Whenever we respond to emergencies and sometimes we arrive late because information doesn’t reach us in good time or because we can’t easily access the areas, the residents may turn against us, pelting us with stones and threatening to lynch us. Others destroy our water hoses and choose

work is done by volunteers. Thank you to ACSA for making it possible for us to carry out our work and save lives,” said Robertson at the event, which coincided with a handover of new state-of-the-art Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire tenders. He continued, “ACSA has been a loyal supporter of the NSRI for more than a decade and is a valued platinum partner. South Africa doesn’t have a state coast guard. The NSRI, a charity, was founded in 1967 with a mandate to save lives on South African waters. This service we have provided with great passion ever since.”

to tackle the fire on their own, saying we are slow and oblivious to important factors like wind, which have to be considered when fighting a fire,” continued Mboya. The NCC has embarked on a programme to train slum dwellers on fire response and basic fire fighting skills. The county also provides pumps, hoses and tanks. The objective is to make the residents the first line of defence against fires and contain their spread before the arrival of the fire brigade.

Azad Cassim, Thabo Phateng, Dr Cleeve Robertson and Rishi Thakurdin “The Sea Rescue Institute does not charge the people who we rescue but we rely on donations, bequests and sponsorships to cover the annual running cost of R27,5m. It is great to have ACSA on board as a partner and we are grateful for their continued support,” concluded Dr Robertson.

According to Mboya, fire fighters from the county are trained at their school in Industrial Area that also doubles as a fire station. “The centre does not have state of the art equipment but has all the basic fire fighting gear like fire engines,” explains Mboya. “Senior staff is taken abroad for further training. I went to Israel while my boss went to Japan,” he added. Source: The Nairobian Volume 3 No. 1

News

Super Group Trading partners with E-One

uper Group Trading and E-One recently announced a partnership to supply superior emergency vehicles and after sales service to sub-Sahara Africa. “E-One, with its headquarters in Ocala, Florida in the States, began its

presence in South Africa in 1976 and has successfully delivered hundreds of E-One fire rescue trucks since then,” said Sam Itani, vice president, international and government sales, E-One. “Our partnership with Super Group represents a pooling of the expertise of two major firms in an

Luke de Koker, Sam Itani, Kamogelo Mmutlana, Wayne Taylor, Bruce McDonald-Watson and Hugo Lamprechts

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effort to improve the presence of our brand and after sales service in southern Africa.” “Fire rescue vehicles play a vital role in protecting and rescuing our communities from fire and other hazardous situations,” said Kamogelo Mmutlana, executive director, Super Group Holdings. “Super Group’s partnership with E-One allows us to promote and sell their products and services within sub-Sahara Africa, including Kenya. We are excited to help E-One grow its presence in Africa and to offer our customers in this region access to the world’s leading first responder vehicles.” Mmutlana added, “Partnerships need several issues to be successful, one of which is stability. We are customer driven and our services and products are offered on a best-value concept approach. To be the preferred choice of our customers, we are committed to operational excellence while caring about the environment.”

News

Port St Johns Municipality receives life guard equipment

he Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) has handed over R400 000 worth of life guard equipment to the Port St Johns Municipality, an administrative area in the OR Tambo District of Eastern Cape in South Africa. The donation included nine rescue craft, nine rescue boards and a host of other equipment and uniforms for lifeguards.

in the world’. The most recent attack took place off Second Beach in March when a 72-year-old Austrian tourist was killed while swimming in shallow water in the afternoon when all the attacks have taken place. More deaths, however, result from drowning, with eight fatalities last year alone. Second Beach is extremely popular with tourists and locals right throughout the year because of the warm climate.

Prior to the intervention by DEDEAT the situation at Port St Johns was that: • Five beaches had no signage at all and what signage did exist was primarily in English and should also be in Xhosa • There was a lack of equipment and kit for lifeguards and • A lack of well-equipped and welltrained lifesavers and equipment at all beaches.

The presentation of the equipment took place against the background of nine shark attacks, seven of which were fatal, off Second Beach over the past decade that has earned the beach the tag of being the ‘deadliest

There are eight beaches in the town in addition to the area used to cross the Mzimvubu River that the municipality states ‘requires full time support as the communities use the boat to access town on a daily basis”.

The provision of equipment by DEDEAT will ensure that the lifeguards have the use of state-of-the-art equipment and so create a safer environment within which both tourists and locals can swim.

Fleet Africa, a subsidiary of Super Group, will be managing the full maintenance leasing options on the vehicles.

recognised for superior fire fighting and rescue capabilities. The missioncritical vehicle range includes custom and commercial pumper tankers, Water Master vacuum tankers, aerial ladders and platforms, command and communication apparatus, quick attack units, industrial trucks and aircraft rescue fire fighting vehicles.

year paint and corrosion perforation warranty and a 20-year aerial device structural warranty. “We design our fire trucks to solve problems,” stated Itani. “Our focus is on the safety of the crew, whether municipal, industrial, airport or wildfire. A fire truck has two main purposes; to protect people and structures. Our apparatus boast the safest cabs in the industry and exceeds National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards to save lives,” concluded Itani.

Established in 1974, E-One is a leading designer and manufacturer of fire rescue vehicles with more than 28 000 vehicles in operation around the globe. Innovation has been the company’s driving force and continues to be the impetus behind its pursuit of new technologies. E-One pioneered the use of extruded aluminium in first responder vehicles and continues to lead the industry today with innovative uses of this material along with its first-rate stainless steel product line. The result is state-ofthe-art fire rescue vehicles that are

E-One’s quality management system is ISO 9001 certified. Being a single source manufacturer, with facilities in Ocala, Florida and Hamburg, New York, E-One provides first-rate service, competitive warranties and thorough training. All E-One vehicles have a 10-year cab and body structural warranty, a 10-year stainless steel plumbing warranty, a 10-

An E-One heavy rescue

For service and maintenance, E-One vehicles will be supported by Super Group’s large dealer network; each dealership fully trained to keep E-One trucks on the road and ready to respond.

The eMax urban interface pumper

Volume 3 No. 1

News

Ekurhuleni launches Zonkizizwe Fire Station

Executive mayor Mondli Gungubele showcases the emergency vehicles

he City of Ekurhuleni, situated in Gauteng Province, South Africa, has increased its ability to protect its people and their properties from accidental fire in the townships and nearby areas. This followed the launch of another fire station, located in Zonkizizwe and is ready to combat emergency related incidences. Armed with wildfire and rescue vehicles, two ambulances, a water tanker, foam tender and a major pumper, the R28 million emergency centre opened its doors on 17 July 2014. The latest addition to Ekurhuleni emergency assets follows the launch of similar fire stations in Tsakane in 2013, Daveyton in 2010, Etwatwa in 2009. The Tembisa Fire Station received a major facelift in 2005.

Member of Mayoral Committee for community safety, Cllr Mthuthuzeli Siboza and executive mayor Mondli Gungubele

The municipality is pulling all stops to further construct new fire stations in Duduza, Kwa Thema, Germiston, Thokoza and the Albertina Sisulu Corridor in the next five years. “This means increased job creation and also serves to attract interest from the townships to pursue careers in the emergency fields. We are certain that we will achieve this and it will be assurance to our people that they are safe from accident fires,” Ekurhuleni spokesperson Themba Gadebe said. The Zonkizizwe Fire Station has already created 71 permanent jobs. This emergency facility is positioned strategically to respond to emergencies that may occur along the Kliprivier Road and N3 corridor, which carries a significant amount of traffic transporting hazardous materials.

The state-of-the-art facility is ready to serve the southern border of Ekurhuleni, which has been growing rapidly over the years. The border covers among others, Zonkizizwe, Zama - Zama, Sunrise View, Moleleki Section, Katlehong South, Sonwaba and farming communities in and around this spread. The fire station is also in close proximity to assist the Suikerbosrand Game Reserve, which is extremely vulnerable to wildfires. Zonkizizwe Fire Station has come in perfect timing ahead of the envisaged major economic development, the Tambo Springs Inland Port in Vosloorus. The Tambo Springs Inland Port was identified and proposed as a Gauteng-Durban critical inland port and the freight corridor for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

Gauteng holds fire norms and standards workshop

he Gauteng Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA ) recently organised a workshop on fire and rescue services norms and standards. The workshop was facilitated by Roland Hendricks, Director: Disaster Management Services at Gauteng CoGTA. South Africa’s Fire and Rescue Services Norms and Standards Draft Document has been under fire since 2008 and no final document has yet been released. The workshop formed part of an initiative to stimulate debate and input from the

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leaders to ready this document for public comment. Areas of concern that were highlighted included that the fire service should have its own control centre as in the past and ambulances services should be a separate entity with its own budget. Hendricks emphasised that the province will support the chief fire officers should they find some non-compliant stations. Gauteng is the only province with a fire and emergency services directorate. Other issues discussed included the education level and experience of

fire chiefs. Suggestions included 10 years’ experience and an NQF Level 6 as basic, with a five-year leeway to those already in the service to enable them to catch up. A discussion on urban search and rescue (USAR), facilitated by Gerhardt Niewoudt, highlighted some shortcomings through gap analysis. Hendricks concluded with the way forward for USAR management within Gauteng. The department is planning follow up meetings with key role players to discuss the draft document.

News

Johannesburg EMS receives new fleet

City of Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services (CoJEMS) recently acquired 20 new state-of-the-art ambulances

he South Africa’s City of Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services (CoJEMS) recently acquired 20 new state-of-the-art ambulances to ensure prompt response to incidents. The fully-equipped ambulances will be allocated to different fire stations according to internal risk analysis study, which is conducted from time to time. It has always been a norm for the city to replace an ageing fleet at the end of its operational term and forms part of the department’s vehicle replacement plan to replace vehicles with high mileage.

(MMC) for public safety, said that the event was a result of work that had been underway for some time and is a tangible glimpse of the department’s greater plans going forward for the CoJ community based on a renewed vision, mission and vigour. Clr Lemao

continued, “The department is also reviewing its internal mechanisms with the objective of instituting robust performance while fostering improved relations with the citizens and stakeholders of our city. The department remains committed to becoming

Councillor Sello Lemao

Virgil James

Virgil James, communications specialist at the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) said, “The replacement of the EMS fleet is premise upon a strategic goal to increase the accessibility of services to the community. The new fleet is an embodiment of the city’s commitment to save lives and property, which has always been a priority for Public Safety Department.” Councillor (Clr) Sello Lemao, member of the mayoral committee

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News

Provinces compare USAR arrangements By Etienne du Toit, Deputy Director: Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government

outh Africa’s Gauteng and Western Cape Provinces recently joint forces in order to increase current urban search and rescue (USAR) capacity. A delegation, consisting of senior members of the Gauteng Provincial Government as well as emergency services in the province, visited the Western Cape between 18 and 20 June 2014. The purpose of the visit was threefold, firstly to view and compare urban search and rescue (USAR) institutional arrangements in the Western Cape with those in Gauteng. Secondly, to identify potential areas of cooperation

Senior members of the Gauteng Provincial Government and emergency services visited the Western Cape

Clr Sello Lemao in one of the new ambulances 30

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and collaboration in terms of urban search and rescue in the two provinces and thirdly, to grow the current urban search and rescue capacity in the provinces into what will become a national and regional asset. The delegation was hosted by the Western Cape Government’s Chief Directorate Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services and included a visit to the Department of Health’s emergency medical services rescue base in Pinelands.

Services headquarters in Worcester. The Breede Valley municipal manager Mr GF Matthyse welcomed the group. The welcoming was followed by the inspection and viewing of the Western Cape urban search and rescue ‘cache’ consisting of modular containers and a prime mover; a duplicate system is also in operation in Gauteng. The uniform marking and standardised storage of equipment were identified as key areas of cooperation.

The second day was spent at the Breede Valley Fire and Rescue

The remainder of the day was spent on discussing the way forward.

The delegation at Western Cape Emergency Medical Services Rescue base in Pinelands

David Tshabalala, Fana Mnguni, Lucas Mokoena, Mandla Masina, Gerhardt Nieuwoudt, Etienne du Toit and Roland Hendricks

the service delivery partner of choice and putting the needs of our esteemed communities first and foremost! The organisation cannot gamble with people’s lives and violate one of our foremost regulations which deal with keeping our commitment and promise within our mandate.”

In terms of the Joburg 2040 Strategy and the recently reviewed integrated development plan, one of the identified key flagship programmes is a safe, secure and resilient city that protects, serves, builds and empowers communities. “We must ensure continuity and change, build capacity and importantly assess our risks to enable us to respond and not just respond but respond quickly and effectively to save lives and property. I can safely say that we have capable men and women who are delighted to have new vehicles and equipment at their disposal, concluded Lemao.

Clr Lemao added that emergency management services is a critical part of the public safety department and has to be up to speed with having state-ofthe-art ambulances coupled to a committed personnel, who regularly undergo continuous training and development.

News

African Rope Access Championships 2014

ome and test your skill at the African Rope Access Championships 2014. The competition is first of its kind in Africa and is organised by the Heightsafety Group of Companies and is endorsed by the Institute for Working at Height (IWH).

when the technician is back on the ground where he/she started. A combined aid climbing exercise will follow third. The technician will access the aid climbing routes with an access rope from the ground. A combination of steel beams and eye

Manoeuvres The competition manoeuvres include ascending and descending through a deviation, knots passing, through a re-belay and back down to the ground. The total height of all the manoeuvres combined is eight metres. The second stage includes a short line transfer, into a long line transfer, into a loop and down to the ground. This will run in a triangle and all ropes for the transfers need to be prepared and connected to the technician’s harness before the time may start. The time stops

There is an entry fee is R200 per person. All participants will receive a certificate of participation. The event will contribute seven continuing professional development (CPD) points towards each participant’s registration of further designations with the professional body in addition to the hours being logged in their log book.

There will be two events; the first will be on 10 and 11 October 2014 at Heightsafety’s Midrand training centre, Gauteng and the second on 7 and 8 November 2014 at the Cape Town Training premises in Brackenfell. Both events will commence at 7h30 and continue until all competitors have competed. The winner takes home a cash prize of R10 000, runner up R5 000 and third place R3 000. There will also be various equipment prizes on the day of the event. The contender, who completes a combination of four level 1 rope access manoeuvres without any safety mistakes, wins the competition. Any short cut may be taken as long as you safely remain on two points at all times. Any safety mistake is an immediate disqualification from the competition.

one minute handicap on each manoeuvre while rope access level 3 technicians will have a two minute handicap.

Johan and Sharon du Toit bolts need to be aided by making use of short slings and direct connections. A total number of 14 eye bolts needs to be crossed and two sections of three meter beams. Once the technician reaches the other side, he/she needs to transfer to a set of access ropes and abseil down to the ground. No tie back of cow tails onto the beams is permitted. The last event will be a pick-off rescue where the victim is stuck on a descender about five metres off the ground. The rescuer needs to access the victim on the same set of working ropes, accessing the victim from underneath. Who may enter? Any current, competent, registered IWH rope access technician who holds a valid licence to operate. Proof of a valid medical must be provided on the day of the competition. Any level of rope access technician may enter. Rope access level 2 will have a

The Heightsafety Group of Companies specialises in the service and product delivery of all aspects of safe working at height. The group consists of three separate privately-owned companies. Each company specialises in a specific application field of working-atheight. The three subsidiary companies are Heightsafety Projects, Heightsafety Training Academy and Heightsafety Gear. The Holding company is headed up by Johan and Sharon du Toit as comanaging directors. Heightsafety Projects specialises in turnkey solutions for rope access projects and includes projects offshore and onshore, ranging from remote jungle areas to high altitude mountainous areas to offshore platforms with poisonous gas leaks. The training academy offers a complete range of working at height training programmes including fall arrest and rope access learning programmes. Heightsafety Gear manufactures, design, develops, imports and distributes of a comprehensive range of fall arrest, rope access and rope rescue equipment. Volume 3 No. 1

Vehicle extrication

Fire fighting nozzles are designed to put out fires by getting the right amount of water, in the right form, to the right place

Managing vehicle underride extrications By Colin Deiner, Chief Director, Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government

hen rescue services are called to motor vehicle accidents involving a collision of a heavy motor vehicle against a light passenger vehicle, they could be confronted by a number of possible scenarios. Unfortunately, none of them good.

Lifting must be done in a controlled manner and any openings that get created must be filled by cribbing or airbags 32

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Head on collisions will cause severe damage to the light motor vehicle and a high fatality rate is generally the result. There are seldom entrapments in such situations unless passengers are entangled in the wreckage of the vehicle due to the damage it suffered on impact. When a light motor vehicle crashes into the side or rear of a heavy vehicle, a whole new challenge will present itself. The light motor vehicle might propel itself to some distance below the heavy vehicle’s chassis until it stops due to being wedged against the side or chassis of that vehicle. The car could also come into contact with a number of vehicle support components such as the fuel tank, battery casing or support beams. The components could be dislodged or break and cause additional threats to the victims and risks to the responding agencies. These incidents often occur at night and in places where motorists don’t anticipate the presence of heavy vehicles. When during my career I have responded to such incidents, it has been at crossings or on freeways where

heavy vehicles drivers have attempted to turn their vehicles across the road for some reason, change multiple lanes or has suffered some sort of mechanical failure and come to a standstill on a road surface. We have also all encountered the trailer ‘Jack-knife’ where a steering axle brake problem has caused a trailer to cause the two units to move laterally and end up being unrecoverable on their final stationary position. Injuries in such cases are normally very severe and are mostly head (facial) and upper body injuries. You will also encounter lower limb entrapment if the dashboard of the victim’s vehicle is forced down by some component of the heavier vehicle. In rarer cases, vehicle components can get dislodged and penetrate victims causing more serious injuries. When encountering a vehicle underride incident, a number of options might be available to the rescue commander, however, a thorough assessment of both the position and level of entrapment of the victim and the position of the vehicle will have to be done in order to determine the best method of release.

Vehicle extrication able to shore a car on its roof, side and all four wheels. Appreciate, however, that frame rails for large commercial vehicles are much higher and larger sized cribbing may be needed. This is not only for an increase in the required weight support but also to provide for the increased height needed for the larger box cribs. Always remember the minimum safety heights for airbags and their load carrying capacity. Please refer to ‘Working with airbags’, Fire and Rescue International, Vol 2 no 7 in 2013 for more information.

Do you have sufficient lifting/shoring equipment to hold and lift these loads?

Response and scene safety As we all know, the incident starts with the receipt of the call. If the despatcher ascertains that it is a heavy versus light motor vehicle incident, the correct resources need to respond immediately. A heavy rescue truck with a rotator boom, if available, should form part of the initial response. If your service does not have access to such a resource, an agreement should be in place with some local vehicle recovery companies who would be able to supply heavy recovery vehicles at short notice. You can always send it back if you don’t need it. Also anticipate the possibility of a hazardous materials release. If the impact was on or near the heavy vehicle’s fuel saddle tank, you may have a negligible to significant release of diesel that will have to be controlled before any extrication work can be commenced. Fuel, which has found its way onto injured victims, will pose other problems that will need to be addressed. Hydraulic oil spills, oil tanks under pressure and leaking fuel lines must also be identified and secured. Other than the vehicle’s internal systems, the type and capacity of the load being transported must be carefully noted. It has often happened in the past that rescue crews have conducted an epic vehicle underride extrication only to, at the end of it all, realise that they were working in close proximity to a highlycompromised compressed gas vessel or extremely toxic load. That’s why they have such good guardian angels. 34

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The deployment of a hazmat team might be required before the rescue crew can enter the hot zone. They might be required to isolate a leaking valve or ripped surface and control the product that has already escaped from the load. A measure of decontamination might have to be done and it could also be possible that they will have to set up some sort of decontamination station once the rescuers and the patient exit the hot zone. Among all the other generic safety considerations for a vehicle accident scene, you must also try to ascertain the location of the victim(s). A high speed side-entry underride could cause the car to be trapped quite deeply under the heavy vehicle and the victim(s) might not be easily visible. Stabilisation Most first responding rescue trucks carry sufficient shoring for one or two light motor vehicles. With this they are

Before any vertical stabilisation is attempted, it is important to prevent any lateral movement of the vehicle(s). You should start by chocking any wheels that are still in contact with the ground. It is also important to strap down components of the vehicle or load that may move during the rescue phase. Due to most of the cabs on these heavy commercial vehicles featuring body-mount assemblies that are either spring-loaded or pneumatic, it will be necessary for the cab load to be directed to the ground through the frame rails as well. To achieve this, you might need to insert cribbing between the frame rails and the underside of the cab always ensuring that your stabilisation will not be in the way (and therefore compromise) any metal relocation that will have to be done later on. A side-entry underride against a lower frame vehicle with soft cladding such as a passenger bus or furniture truck, could obscure the driver’s seat of the light motor vehicle from the rescue team

Frame rails for large commercial vehicles are much higher and larger sized cribbing may be needed

Vehicle extrication and will need a deeper penetration into the vehicle to understand the level of entrapment/patient condition. Cribbing the vehicle will be tricky and might be a ‘feel as you go’ exercise until some sort of stabilisation is achieved. Knowledge of the anatomy of such vehicles must form part of your vehicle rescue training programme in order for responders to understand where its ‘stabilisation contact points’ will be. Rescue units must have at least two air chisels (panel cutters) and sufficient air to remove parts of the cladding that may obscure vision and open areas needed for stabilisation contact points. Knowing what the weight is that you will need to lift might entail a bit of ‘educated guesswork’. South Africa’s national road traffic legislation regulates the maximum vehicle’s permissible mass on public roads to 7,5- ton (single axle), 18-ton (double axle) and 24-ton (three axles). In most incidents, you will only need to raise the load a small distance and factors such as a shifted load, position of the vehicles and reach ability of rescue equipment will have an influence on your calculations. Pneumatic high pressure lifting bags have a lifting capacity generally higher than would be required. The most important question you will have to answer is “do I have sufficient lifting/shoring equipment to hold and lift these loads?” This is not a question that you would want answer when you are confronted by it on scene. When dealing with a trailer underride, the trailer’s landing gear will provide a significant amount of stabilisation support if it hasn’t been damaged and is able to be deployed. Also remember that landing gear is generally deployed in a controlled environment and on a stable surface. If you are going to deploy the landing gear on an unstable surface, ensure that you are able to stabilise the surface on which you are going to drop the gear. The truck’s baseplates will be ideal for this purpose. Try before you pry During a light passenger vehicle underride incident I attended a number of years ago, we were setting up for a major lifting operation to remove the load off the patient in

Try before you pry but make sure that you are able to do it without making things worse

the driver’s seat when one of the rescue crew grabbed hold of the seat’s adjustment handle and moved it backwards. The result: patient was freed and a whole lot of rescuers were left saying ‘why didn’t I think of that’. It can be that simple. If, however, the load is projected directly on the victim or a vehicle component has caused some sort of penetration, it would not be advisable. Try before you pry but make sure that you are able to do it without making things worse. Controlled lift, controlled release When you are lifting the truck/trailer off the smaller vehicle, you are, in effect, separating the two vehicles from each other. This must be done in a controlled manner and any openings that get created must be filled by cribbing or airbags. ‘Crib-as-you-go’ at least two points around the load. You might find that a fair amount of entanglement has taken place between the two vehicles and this might cause the light vehicle to be lifted (along with the truck/trailer) the moment the truck/ trailer is raised. This can be caused by a number of factors such as frame rails, body supports, wiring or tubing. You may need to have a rescue crew on standby to cut these components away using hydraulic cutters or reciprocating saws. If this is not possible, you might have to allow the vehicle to lift together with the overhead load but at the same time making sure that it is done under control. It might, however, not assist in providing access to the victim.

You do not want rescuers working under the load. This movement will have to be very carefully monitored, all the time appreciating the path of access for the rescuers and egress of the patient. Rescues of this nature can be very taxing and also extend for quite a long time. All this must be taken into consideration and it will be necessary to plan for a more thorough level of patient care while the release is being performed. Any lifting of the load will probably have a cantilever effect and here it is important to consider the load being carried. Solid loads, gases and liquids will react differently when they are displaced and could cause enough inertia to cause the load displacement in an opposite direction with adverse results. Any load carrying many smaller products (eg cold drinks) might have to be off-loaded before the lift can even be started. Training As a rescue trainer in a previous job, I used to be surprised at the number of requests I used to get for structural collapse training from fire and emergency services. The high level of technical competency in this field in South Africa has been proven with the exceptional response to a number of recent major structural collapse incidents occurring at various centres. What always surprised me was the willingness of some services to acquire these skills for their staff at the cost of up-skilling them in the field of vehicle Volume 3 No. 1

Fire service

Overstrand Fire and Rescue: small, passionate and evolving Overstrand’s pride and joy: the new Marcè rescue pumper

verstrand Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management has been serving the community as a department since 2000 and has its headquarters in Hermanus in the

extrication. Vehicle extrication is the base from which all other heavy rescue techniques will develop. I know vehicle wrecks are extremely hard to come by for training in this country (not to mention the availability of trucks). This does not prevent you from contacting your local transport company or trucking company and

Western Cape province of South Africa. A further two stations are based in Gansbaai and Kleinmond and two satellite stations in Stanford and Pringle Bay. Betty’s Bay satellite station is manned by volunteers.

taking your crews to their premises to check out the various features that they might confront on a dark night when a car is trapped underneath it. In the early years of the Southern African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI) National Extrication Challenge, trailers formed part of each exercise pit and vehicle underride scenarios were regularly presented to rescue teams.

A high speed side-entry underride could cause the car to be trapped quite deeply under the heavy vehicle and the victim(s) might not be easily visible.

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This has sadly (due to logistical reasons) fallen by the wayside. I sincerely hope that organisers of this event, in future, will consider bringing this important feature back to the extrication challenge. It is really at this point that management must get involved and budget for this need. Rescue services are judged by the public on their ability to rescue people. Open days, clean stations, medal parades and many other routine fire services activities mean nothing if the four man crew responding to the accident involving a slightly inebriated little Jimmy Brown and his mates at 03h00 on a Sunday morning are not able to remove him safely and effectively from the wreck of his mother’s car; ie services are judged on their ability to do their core jobs. Rescue services management need to think outside of the box when it comes to providing realistic training resources to ensure the best possible responses to the emergencies in their jurisdictions. It should not be left to the odd enterprising staffer who just happens to have a ‘contact’ at the local junkyard.

Fire service

CFO Lester Smith

Station officer Angelo Aplon

Divisional commander Brian Lobb

Divisional commander Joe Schoeman

Before the amalgamation of Hangklip, Kleinmond, Greater Hermanus, Stanford and Gansbaai municipalities into Overstrand Municipality, none of the municipalities had a dedicated fire department. Reservist and volunteers were used to respond to emergencies.

buildings and the lack of space. “The fire station still utilises the old way of capturing incidents, pen and book,” said station officer Angelo Aplon. “Our current buildings need to be renovated and we are in need of additional buildings. A dedicated training facility is also required,” stated Aplon.

Gansbaai and Hermanus were the only municipalities that had fire engines. Kleinmond received their first fire engine in August 2003. Prior to that Kleinmond only had bakkie units. Overberg District Fire Services assisted during major incidents. The first chief fire officer was Riaan Jacobs, who was appointed in 2004 and retired in 2012. The headquarters were then in Gansbaai.

Overstrand’s risk profile encompasses old age homes with high occupancy levels, shopping centres, urban fringe fires, wildfires, informal dwellings eg squatter camps and back yard dwellings. There are, at times, great distances that need to be travelled, due to the geographical distribution and layout of its operational area. Other risk issues include the spaces between houses on the urban fringe, lack of water supply, mountainous areas with steep slope and density and the problematic access to squatter camps.

The department has since grown and the head office was relocated to Hermanus after the appointment of the current chief fire officer (CFO), Lester Smith, in April 2013. Organisational structure Overstrand Fire and Rescue has a chief fire officer and three divisional commanders ie fire safety, Joe Schoeman; disaster management, Marlu Rust and vehicles and equipment, Brian Lobb, who was the first to be employed on contract. Hermanus Fire Station is the only station with a station commander namely Angelo Aplon who also takes care of the Fire and Life Safety Education Programmes and operations. Each station has two fire fighters, except one that has one fire fighter and one learner fire fighter. There are Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) members based at each station. “The organisational structure is presently being reviewed and we are in the process of obtaining additional 30 cadet fire fighter posts,” stated CFO Smith. With an operational budget of approximately R 12 500 000, which includes salaries and wages, general expenses as well as the repairs and maintenance, the service’s operational area spans the Overstrand area, which includes Rooi-Els, Betty’s Bay, Kleinmond, The Greater Hermanus Area, Stanford and Gansbaai. A number of challenges are faced by the service and include being under staffed, dated vehicles and equipment, lack of a digital incident capturing system, old

Population The Overstrand Local Municipality has an estimated population of 74 546 people. The Actuarial Society of Southern Africa (ASSA) model estimates a marginal slowing of the population growth rate to 3,1% per annum in the period 2007 to 2012. The influx of visitors can increase the population of Overstrand with up to 50 percent during festivals and festive seasons. These growth rates are, however, higher than the Overberg District Municipality’s (ODM) average of 1,8%. Consequently, it is expected that the Overstrand will become the most populace municipality within the Overberg in due course. (Extracted from the Disaster Management Plan page 7 of 20) Size of area covered The Municipality covers a land area of approximately 2 125km2, with a population density of 35 people per square kilometre and covers the areas of Hangklip/Kleinmond, Greater Hermanus, Stanford and Greater Gansbaai. The municipal area has a coastline of approximately 200 kilometres, stretching from Rooi Els in the west to Quinn Point in the east. (Extracted from the Disaster Management Plan page 7 of 20). Staff complement To date, Overstrand Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management has a staff complement of 101 members, which includes 12 permanent staff members, 52 EPWP Volume 3 No. 1

Fire service

Divisional commander Marlu Rust

Craig Niemand

Shane Booysen, Earl Galant, Wongalethu Mapapa and Sipisihle Sigili

contract staff members, 22 reservists and 15 volunteers. Quite recently another 20 Working on Fire (WoF) members have been contracted and will be based in Kleinmond. The WoF team’s core function will be wildland fire fighting. Fire fighter 1 and 2 remain the minimum criteria for all operational fire fighters. Hazmat is current on operational level staff and selected members are trained to level 3 in high angle rope rescue. “Our operational staff is also trained in confined space rescue and wilderness search and rescue 1,” stated Smith. Over the years, Overstrand Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management has had a number of female fire fighters. Presently, one female fire fighter still remains in the field.

When asked whether there is enough competent staff for the incidents at hand, CFO Smith replied, “We remain a very young fire service compared to the more recognised fire services. We therefore need to develop our current staff. It’s not very often that a fire service would have enough fire fighters. The ideal complement of fire fighters in your area should be qualified and have a good local knowledge. We follow and conform to the recruitment policies of our municipalities,” said Smith. Training The department does its best to stay current with the latest training techniques on offer. “Our staff members are sent for regular training, which is done inhouse as well as being outsourced,” Aplon said in the interview.

Gabriel Badenhorst, Ebrahim Isaacs, Wayne Haman, Craig Niemand, Jacques van der Lill, Theuns Otto and DJ Heyns 38

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Fire service There is no accredited training facility for Fire fighter 1 and 2 in the Overberg area and as such the staff attended training at Cape Winelands Training Academy in Stellenbosch. Training and development is based on external accredited training and internal inhouse training that include combined exercises and workshops. “During recent months, joint exercises in collaboration with other role players such as traffic, law enforcement, private ambulance services, SAPS and Western Cape EMS, have taken place. This is important as it ensures a harmonious working relationship between the entire emergency services personnel,” said Aplon. Training is an important component and contributes to the success of the department. Each fire station remains responsible to conduct its own inhouse training. “We are in the process to centralise training in order to provide comprehensive inhouse training. All accredited training is outsourced to accredited service provided,” confirmed Aplon. Operations The current areas of expertise comprise structural and wildfire capabilities, rescue and, in some instances, medical response. Overstrand also has a wilderness search and rescue (WSAR) team, which include high angle rope rescue. They are currently developing hazmat capability. Aerial fire fighting resources are outsourced during the Western Cape fire season.

Reservists DJ Heyns and Theuns Otto extended bumper with winch, deck monitor, hoses and ladder. “Our dream vehicle would be a Marce major rescue pumper, built on a 6x6 Mercedes Benz chassis with crew cab for four crew members, excluding officer and driver. It would have a 10 000 litre water tank so that there would be no need for an extra water tanker. The water pump would have an output of 4 000 litres per minute pump @ 10 bar (low pressure) and 450 litres per minute pump @ 40 bar (high pressure). It would be fitted with an independent engine to run the power take off (PTO) pump independently without the main engine and would have

According to statistics, the most common incidents that Overstrand responds to are wildfires. There is an increase in structural and informal dwelling fires during the winter. “We also assist with the monitoring of water levels and provide humanitarian services to those who are affected by floods and severe weather conditions during the winter months,” said Aplon. “We also attend to horrific accidents in our area where we, together with the Western Cape Provincial Emergency Medical Services, work closely together to treat and extricate victims. “Overstrand Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management does not have adequate fleet; it is old. Aging vehicles cause a major operational shortfall. We do not have enough hydraulic rescue tools to perform the necessary functions. Also, specialised structural fire equipment such as a thermal imaging camera, ventilation saw etc hampers our abilities,” said CFO Smith. Equipment “We are fortunate in that we have recently taken delivery of our new rescue pumper,” said CFO Smith. The new urban pumper was built by Marcè Fire Fighting Technology on a Mercedes Benz 1428 4x4 chassis with a Marcè GRP crew cab fitted with four self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) sets jump seats. It has a 3 000 litres tank capacity and a 300 litre foam tank with around the pump foam proportioning. The Ziegler rear mounted pump is capable of 4 000 litres per minute at 10 bar and 450 litres per minute at 40 bar. The pumper also sports a robotic light mast, ladder gantry, Volume 3 No. 1

Fire service

A quick demonstration by the Overstrand fire fighters

a joy stick operated deck monitor. The 6x6 capabilities of our ultimate pumper would allow easier access to off road terrain. Additionally, we would want it fitted with flood lights and lockers for equipment,” visualised Smith. “This vehicle allows would us to send one vehicle to an incident that will have adequate water, equipment and staff. It wold be the ultimate multi-purpose fire engine capable to attend to structural, informal dwellings and

wildfires, said Aplon. He added, “Happy fire fighters are effective fire fighters.” Divisional commander Brian Lobb added, “Our biggest challenge is the age of the vehicles and the lack of staff. Experience makes a fire fighter.” The rest of the vehicles in the arsenal include:

Description Class Mercedes Benz 1328 (4X4) Pumping appliance Tata Fire truck 713C 4X4 Pumping appliance Mercedes 1617/48 Ecoliner Truck Pumping appliance Mercedes L1517/48 Fire engine Pumping appliance Nissan CM10F Water wagon truck Pumping appliance Mercedes 1213 K32 Pumping appliance Ford FMC Pumping appliance Ford F8000 Fire engine Pumping appliance Nissan Hardbody 4x4 LDV Utility Isuzu KB200 LE SWB Utility Nissan 1800 LDV Skid unit Nissan Hardbody 3,2D LWB 4X4 (GB) Skid unit Nissan Hardbody 3,2D LWB 4X4 (GB) Skid unit Toyota Hilux 2,7i 4x4 S/cab Skid unit Nissan Hardbody 2,0 4x2 1 ton LDV Skid unit Nissan LWB 1 ton 1800-2000CC Utility Nissan Hardbody 2,0 LWB 1ton S/cab Utility Nissan Hardbody NP300 LWB 4X4 Skid unit Toyota Landcruiser Skid unit The total mileage of the vehicles exceeds 9 400 000 kilometres.

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Model Year 2009 2006 1997 1983 1989 1983 1978 1975 2007 1999 1994 2004 2004 2006 2007 2007 2007 2011 2011

Condition Good Fair Fair Poor Badly rusted Fair Fair Scrapped Good Never been replaced Fair Fair Fair Good Good Good Good Good Good

Fire service Fire safety Overstrand’s fire and life safety division is headed up by divisional commander Joe Schoeman, a 35-year veteran, who joined Overstrand in 2007. “Fire and life safety education remains one of our main strategies to create a safer community for everyone and to improve the goodwill between the department and the public. We also received cooperation and support from the Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, in particular assistant director Rodney Eksteen. Training was provided to our staff that included FLSE 1 educator and Public information officer,” said Schoeman. Further training and developments are planned. Schoeman added, “The biggest thing with fire safety is that it’s more than just public awareness. You need to sell it as a financial commitment that would improve life safety.” Schools in the area were also targeted with the annual provincial flood and fire awareness campaign. Combined school visits are done in conjunction with the traffic, police, law enforcement, WoF etc. “At this stage, all our activities are conducted in isolation. We will need to change this to a campaign-driven approach where we target a specific behaviour at a time,” said CFO Smith.

The ageing and insufficient hydrant water supply infrastructure is of concern as is the increased use of liquid petroleum gas as a domestic and commercial energy source. Part of the fire safety challenges is to create safe transient accommodation facilities for tourism as this is the major industry of the municipality.

The primary fire safety challenges faced in the Overstrand are include a backlog of decades of fire safety neglect created by the absence of professional fire service structures prior to formation of the municipality. Other challenges include the promotion of fire safety awareness within the community and the increase in the size of informal settlements created by influx of job seekers. Formal housing developments and retirement villages catering for infirm and assisted living residents and the integration of urbanisation and rural interface development also challenge the small service.

“We also insure that all new developments comply fully with the national building regulations and we advise older buildings to improve their fire protection. Regular evacuation drills are conducted at old age homes etc,” said Schoeman. Incidents The statistical information provided comes from the current financial year, which runs from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014. The information below however, only runs up until 31 May 2014. Below is a detailed table providing the number of incidents:

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Total Incidents 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 Incidents Veld and bush fires 2 4 3 4 29 21 20 21 14 23 4 145 Veld fires large 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Refuse and grass fires 1 1 2 5 3 9 12 10 9 5 5 62 Residential fires - Formal 2 2 1 2 1 2 3 2 2 1 1 19 - Informal 3 4 6 1 7 4 2 1 2 3 4 37 - Flats 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 - Accommodation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other building fires - Institutional 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Commercial 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 6 - Industrial 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Storage 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Public assembly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Liquid and gas fires 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 Hazmat 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 1 7 Vehicle fires 0 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 13 Other fires 8 3 1 1 1 3 2 3 0 7 3 32 MVA 11 7 3 6 5 17 10 11 8 11 10 99 Rescues 1 1 1 3 5 17 9 11 4 7 1 60 Special services 2 45 10 5 12 15 8 5 4 8 10 124 False alarms and good intent 0 4 5 6 7 6 15 3 6 6 6 64 Monthly totals 31 74 33 36 72 98 84 73 51 73 48 0 673 Volume 3 No. 1

Fire service

Betty’s Bay volunteer fire fighters Establishing the volunteer service meant they could slow down the fire and buy time until the Kleinmond units arrived. In October 2008, Betty’s Bay, Pringle Bay and Rooi-Els were the first towns in South Africa to take up the Firewise challenge and subsequently became the first Firewise communities in the Western Cape.

Cuan McGeorge with Bakkie 6, Betty’s Bay’s skid unit

etty’s Bay, situated in the Overstrand Municipality in the Western Cape, South Africa, established a volunteer fire service after a devastating fire burnt down five houses in May 2008. “The purpose for establishing a volunteer corps in Betty’s Bay was that fire fighting units from Kleinmond could take anything from 10 to 20 minutes to arrive at a fire due to the distance they had to travel,” said Wendy Tawse, coordinator of the Betty’s Bay volunteer group.

In April 2009, the municipality provided the fire fighters with a garage behind the Crassula Hall to store their equipment and the Betty’s Bay Rate Payers Association provided money for the purchase of equipment and uniforms. The then chief fire officer of Overstrand Municipality, Riaan Jacobs, was instrumental in organising a trailer and water tank for use by the fire fighters when responding to fires. “Members came and left and at one stage the volunteers were 11 members strong but settled a seven-member strong active team; always first to arrive and have been involved in helping fight numerous

other fires,” said Tawse. The team has also been instrumental in identifying and cleaning the area around fire hydrants in Betty’s Bay and undergoes bi–weekly training sessions. In 2013, the municipality provided facilities to house Nissan bakkies fitted with a skid unit, Bakkie 6, behind the municipal offices in Betty’s Bay and volunteers spent their spare time renovating the garages into a very functional area for the use of fire fighters. “We are very proud of what we, as a community, have achieved,” concluded Tawse.

The volunteers renovated the area provided by the municipality

approximate cost for fire fighting including aerial support and ground teams was R1,5 million. Damage included: • 7014 hectares of fynbos have burned • 5 Houses were completely destroyed • 6 Houses were damaged • 6 Boats and caravans were burned out • 3 Tools sheds burned down • 13 Boats were damaged • 2 Hiker huts burned down

One of Overstrand rescue pumpers

Interagency involvement Overstrand Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management has an active working relationship with its local disaster management centre, which also provides training, FLSE material and advice.

Major incident The Overstrand area is renowned for dreadful wildfires. One of the most recent fires started on 24 December 2012 and lasted until 6 January 2013 during which approximately R9 million damages were caused to property. The total

The Greater Overberg Fire Protection Association was only established during 2014 and we have a good working relationship with its fire protection officer (FPO), Reinhart Geldenhuys as well as the local FPA Hagelkraal and Riaan Jacobs.

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Fire service

Pringle Bay volunteer community fire fighters

he residents of Pringle Bay, situated in the Overstrand area in the Western Cape, South Africa, established a volunteer fire department some 20 years ago in order to protect their property and people against fires. The seven volunteer fire fighters manage the area around Pringle Bay and Rooi-Els. “We began helping to defend our area against fires in our environment approximately 20 years ago. We first started by towing a fire fighting trailer behind our vehicles. We were so effective, that the Overstrand Municipality gave us an old bakkie that used to belong to it; not forgetting that the bakkie had already been written off a few times due to its age,” said Clayton Francis, convenor of the Pringle Bay volunteer group. The volunteer group made exceptional progress and they were able to submit a three- to five-year operational plan. This involved having a support fire fighter group of five members. The volunteers also have their own branded uniforms. The seven men in the fire brigade aced the fire fighting course, which was prized by the community. According to Francis ninety percent of the volunteers are over the age of 60 years; yet there is life in the old dogs. “We are hard at work collecting money to buy ourselves a 4x4 truck, which would be able to go off-road and carry at least 2 500 litres of water, said Francis.

The Unimog Buffel was purchased with community assistance and benefactors community to provide soft drinks and snacks on the fire ground and we even act as ‘brave’ traffic officers. “We challenge other small towns to do better than we are doing!” concluded Francis.

Besides fire fighting, the volunteers also attend to vehicle accidents and rescue work. The volunteer group has recently acquired a Unimog Buffel 4x4 off-road rescue pumper. “This was only possible through hard work, assistance from the community and other donors. It has taken us between five and six years to collect the money and now we pride ourselves on the Unimog rescue pumper that services Pringle Bay, Rooi-Els and Betty’s Bay, when necessary. The vehicle also made it possible for us to assist as a team in other parts of our area,” stated Francis. Francis continued, “Now that we have successfully finalised the vehicle project, we are busy with the next development; building a fire station in Pringle Bay, which can serve us, as well as other emergency services. The plans have been submitted and the tenders are out: now we are waiting.” If everything goes according to plan, the station should be completed by the end of August 2014. “We live in a unique biosphere area and want to keep it that way; protecting it. We take our fire brigade very seriously. We, as a community, stand together in using our Volume 3 No. 1

Fire service - CFO profile

From reserve fire fighter to CFO Career path CFO Smith’s career path spreads over a 22-year period and started in 1992. In December 1993, CFO Smith was working as a temporary fire fighter at Western Cape Regional Services Council and in June 1994 advanced to a learner fire fighter.

Chief fire officer Lester Smith

verstrand Fire Service’s chief fire officer, Lester Smith, received his inspiration to become a fire fighter from his nephew, Stanley Smith, who was a senior fire fighter when CFO Smith started his career. While working as a reserve fire fighter at Western Cape Regional Services Council during his studies, he developed a passion for fire fighting and decided to become a professional career fire fighter. CFO Smith realised that he wanted to become a chief fire officer in his third year as a station commander and wanted to take on more responsibility. “I was ready for the next step in my career,” said Smith. “In my fourth year as a station commander, the opportunity to become a chief fire officer became a reality when I applied for the position of head protection services, which included chief fire and disaster management as well as chief law enforcement at Bergrivier Municipality. I was successful and was appointed on 1 October 2011,” he added.

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His career continued with Stellenbosch Municipality as a senior fire fighter in March 1997 after which CFO Smith was appointed as platoon commander for Cape Winelands District Municipality and station commander in August 2007. Bergrivier Municipality then appointed him as head protection services in October 2011 and in June 2012, Smith excelled to chief fire officer of Eden District Municipality and then as CFO of Overstrand Fire and Rescue in April 2013. Mentors Speaking to Fire and Rescue International, CFO Smith said, “My mentors were my nephew Stanley Smith and Seon Swartz. My nephew, Stanley Smith, was my motivation and inspiration and most of my fire fighting skills and knowledge was obtained from him. He was my operational mentor and taught me to stay calm when under pressure at all times. My knowledge on the management large and extensive forest and wildfires, I gained from him,” said Smith. CFO Smith continued in saying, “Seon Swartz taught me how to manage different departments and was my mentor on management and administration issues. He advised me on how to manage budgets and guided me on the different municipal systems.” Management style On discussing his management style, CFO Smith said that he preferred a more democratic and participatory style of management. “In recognising others point of view

in certain aspects, one can also learn from other professionals and subordinates,” added Smith. Motivation “I always feel honoured to serve the public,” revealed Smith during his interview when asked what his motivation was and added, “You learn something new every day and there are different challenges every day. As a fire fighter, you always need to think on your feet.” Smith also said that the continuous changes and improvements in technology kept him motivated. “To stay on top of your game, you need to stay abreast of current technology. There are always new toys (new equipment) to play with and you know how boys love their toys,” he said with a smile. Discussing what the biggest influence was on his career, Smith said unwaveringly, “The continuous support of my family and especially my wife, Jeanine. As you know, a fire fighting career is a continuous learning phase of courses, studying and long hours of operational stress and therefore my wife had a big influence in my career because of her continuous support, especially where I experienced a lot of trauma in my career.” Advice His recommendations to fellow fire fighters and future fire chiefs include to always work hard and to focus on your vision and goals. “A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder a waif a nothing,” he quoted. His advice shared with fellow CFOs is, “To always stay focussed and work towards your mission and objectives, although there is a lot of stress and pressure and last but not least to not associate yourself with negative individuals or negative thoughts.

Incident command

Why incident command? A history lesson By Reinard Geldenhuys, chief fire officer, Overberg District Municipality Incident command was implemented after the devastating wildfires in 2000 in the Western Cape

‘Western Cape on Fire’ shouted the headlines in the newspapers and photos of families scurrying to evacuate in time increased newspaper sales! In the aftermath, the provincial and national government wanted answers. On 25 January 2000, Ronnie Kasrils, then Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, addressed parliament, during the snap debate on disaster management, on behalf of the Minister of Provincial and Local Government. In this speech, he announced the intention to conduct an expert investigation of the underlying reasons for the severity of the wildfires and the lessons that can be learned through wildfire management.

he Western Cape is one of the fire prone regions of South Africa. Its coastal and mountain fynbos is interspersed with large tracks of alien infestation, resulting in unique fire challenges; not only for the person on the frontline who has to physically fight these fires but also the incident commander who has to outsmart the fire dragon and keep the fighters on the ground safe. Vast and somewhat inaccessible mountain ranges make for difficult fire fighting conditions, most often leading to extended attack fires deploying a large number of personnel and resources. Added to that is the encroachment of man and its castles into the natural environment including mountainous areas, leading to very rapid developing urban interphase fires where multi-disciplines and technical recourses need to be deployed and managed to protect infrastructure. The above scenario clearly answers the question before we even ask it: Why incident command? 46

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Leading up to the turn of the century, fire services in the Western Cape pretty much did their own thing and the main services like City of Cape Town had some systems going. Nonetheless, in general, fires were fought based on the experience and knowledge of the mostly part time fire chiefs in the rural area. At that stage the fire teams were provided by Cape Nature and the forestry companies. Then came 2000 and instead of Y2K, we had fires. The Western Cape experienced immense fires simultaneously. Fire services were overwhelmed. Table Mountain burned from the table top right through to Cape Point. The city declared code red and units from afar as George in the Southern Cape were called in to help. At that stage the ‘city’ consisted of five substructures and as more and more serious fires burned out of control in the mountains around the peninsula, incident command systems (ICS) started collapsing. Fire fighters were flown in from Gauteng to relieve tired and overworked crews in the region.

On 26 January 2000, the cabinet of the Western Cape Government resolved to appoint a task group to advise on various aspects regarding the January 2000 wildfires in the Western Cape. This task group became known as the fire investigation task team (FITT) and delivered its first report in late March 2000. The report, ‘A review of the wildfires in the Western Cape during 15 to 25 January 2000’, defined one of the problems as follows: “Another pervasive problem reported was that of communication during fires owing to (a) incompatible radio frequencies and (b) gaps in the coverage between radio repeater stations in the mountainous terrain. There were also frequent problems with ground-to-air communication where aerial support was used. Those in charge of fires also regularly reported directly or by implication the difficulty of developing fire fighting strategies due to the inability to obtain sufficient information about larger fires. Finally, respondents often cited the lack of adequate overall coordination of strategy and resources as a major problem.”

InternatIonal IncIdent command SyStem traInIng

FFA Training in collaboration with: SA ICS & USA Instructors (Experts in their field) is presenting:

Incident Command System - Position Specific training in the Western Cape during October 2014. See course details below: * Prerequisite work to be submitted before or on 30 September 2014 for course attendance confirmation. Course Title

Course Detail Describe the responsibility for managing and supervising Task Force/Strike Team resources, reporting, record keeping and after action requirements * Task Force Leader & Objectives: Strike Team Leader Ability to apply risk management processes and appropriate tactics in various incidents with resources organized in teams or task forces Describe the duties and responsibilities required for a Division/Group * Division Supervisor & Supervisor Group Supervisor Objectives: Division/Group management, organizational interaction, division/group operations Describe the related responsibilities to resource status systems, planning process and implementing a demobilization plan. Objectives: * Resources Unit Leader Effective management of personnel, equipment and supplies for the resources unit and demobilization unit, role as unit leader in the operational planning process, produce and disseminate products and information Describe the duties and responsibilities of a Situation Unit Leader with an overview of how to activate, set-up, organize and manage the unit Objectives: * Situation Unit Leader Skills to produce and disseminate timely and accurate products on incident status using technology to produce Maps, ICS forms, situation processes Describe the elements of planning critical to the Operations Section Chief as a member of an Incident Management Team * Operations Section Objectives: Chief Information gathering, meetings & briefings, risk assessment, safety and adjusting tactics, managing the operations section and the role in demobilization Describe the role and responsibilities of a Planning Section Chief as a member of an Incident Management Team * Planning Section Chief Objectives: Information gathering, Strategies, Meeting & Briefings, Incident Action Plans, Interactions, managing the planning section

Course Information Contacts: Michelle Kleinhans michelle.kleinhans@wofire.co.za 013 741 1119 or 078 272 9089 (A/H)

Date and Tariff 13 – 15 October 2014 (2½ Days) Cape Town Lodge R3541.00 (excl VAT) 15 – 17 October 2014 (2½ Days) Cape Town Lodge R3541.00 (excl VAT) 13 – 15 October 2014 (2½ Days) Cape Town Lodge R4261.00 (excl VAT)

15 – 17 October 2014 (2½ Days) Cape Town Lodge R4261.00 (excl VAT)

20 – 24 October 2014 Cape Town Lodge R5140.00 (excl VAT)

20 – 24 October 2014 Cape Town Lodge R6800.00 (excl VAT)

Course Registration Contacts:

FFA Training (PTY) LTD

Pradhantha Devnarain pradhantha.devnarain@wofire.co.za 013 741 1119 or 079 495 5023 (A/H)

Incident command One of the recommendations that lead from the investigation was, “The Department of Provincial and Local Government should publish regulations under the Disaster Management Bill to establish a standard for a disaster plan (DISPLAN) and incident command and the standard should be based upon the USA Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards.” This already starts answering our question of why incident command? The fire services’ respondents, Donald Sparks, Hein Munnik and Gawie Parsons, all chief officers, drafted the first incident command system as part of the mission to implement the recommendations. Parts of this system are still in use today. Cape Nature followed suit and ICS in South Africa gathered further momentum after the South African Incident Command Working Team was formed in March 2004, following the third International Wildland Fire Conference in Sydney Australia in 2003.

This working team has been meeting on a regular basis with representatives from the forestry industries, individual fire services, Cape Nature, SANParks and representatives and instructors from the USA. In the beginning phases, the USASouth Africa (SA) agreement was an informal arrangement but, as time progressed, the arrangement was formalised as the US Agency for International Development signed formal agreements to roll out ICS in South Africa. The frontrunner in facilitating training in incident command was and still is FFA Training that has presented various levels of ICS training under the auspices of the SA ICS Team. At first, the focus was on wildfire-related ICS but the focus changed to all risk ICS as part of further USAID rollout. North West University recently came on board accrediting certain ICS courses, further enhancing and institutionalising ICS training in South Africa.

The report after the destructive 2000 fires cited the lack of adequate overall coordination of strategy and resources as a major problem

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The last three years saw huge buy in and rollout of ICS in some parts of the country. However, in other areas there is still a quite a way to go. The ICS Work Team still plays a coordinating role but the time has come for it to evolve in an institutionalised group that can interact with various government agencies, training institutions and private entities. The future engagement of the work team will therefore be critical to ensure the national coordination, standardisation and further rollout of incident command. So, do we learn from history or still ask, ‘Why ICS?’ The main goal of any incident commander is to keep his/her people safe. By using an incident command system, it gives a clear, coordinated logical approach to tackling any type of incident, ensuring safety and accountability but most of all, if applied correctly, ensures that the most important people go home to their families when he job is done!

Emergency medical services

Langamed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 150 years of serving Langamed staff with the response vehicles

angamed Emergency Management was established in 2004, with its main business aim the provision of emergency management services to the designated district communities in which the offices are situated. Business units are situated in Witbank, Ogies, Phola, Kriel, Middelburg, Limpopo and a training academy in Cradock. Langamed Fire also services the areas of Secunda, Kinross, Bethal, Standerton, Leandra, Evander, while the Eastern Cape region includes, Middelburg, Graaff-Reinet, Somerset East, Bedford, Adelaide, Tarkastad, Hofmeyr and Steynsburg. Shareholders and co-owners The main shareholders of this private ambulance company are Dino Padayachee and Gene Jacobs. The Anglo American subsidiary, Anglo Zimele also has shares in the company. With Padayachee as chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer and

Jacobs as operations director, the company boasts a collective expertise spanning 150 years. Elected as president of the South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI), for the 2015 to 2018 term and being current vice-president of the organisation, he previously held the positions of chief fire officer and group manager, health and safety for an international concern. His qualifications range from fire, paramedic, engineering, safety and health. Jacobs is a qualified critical care assistant with experience in aviation medicine and qualifications in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS). Anglo American Zimele, a highly successful corporate enterprise that, through investment funding and business development, creates empowerment opportunities for formerly marginalised South Africans.

Hugo Barendse, operations director and co-owner of Langamed Eastern Cape, boasts 14 years in the medical industry and has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in this field. Langamed South is co-owned by Shayne van der Heever, who also holds the operations director position for the area. Van der Heever is a qualified advanced life support paramedic and has played an integral role in the fire and medical fraternity for over 17 years. With his vast training experience, he has trained many paramedics. Services Langamedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emergency management services include, amongst others, an ambulance service, prehospital management and response to fire related and entrapment incidents. As far as safety and health issues are concerned, the company covers a broad spectrum incorporating, inter alia, occupational health, risk assessments and develops emergency Volume 3 No. 11

Emergency medical services the annual cancer relay. Langamed provides free medical and basic fire extinguisher training to schools within its areas and also creates job opportunities for people from previously disadvantaged communities who wish to become paramedics.

Clint Groenewald, Queenette Claassen, Shalina Fankomo, Hannetjie Le Roux, Kimmy Hunumathu evacuation procedures. Fire and rescue services include specialised incident response as well as supply of specialised equipment and relevant training. Langamed also provides contracted outsourced services over a wide spectrum of related platforms. Operations Langamed responds to more than 750 calls per month, ranging from medical, trauma, fires, entrapments to trench collapse. Mining and water related incidents are responded to, as is snake handling and multiple car accidents on the highways. Accidents involving heavy duty trucks, motor vehicles and motor bike accidents are covered, as well as incidents involving light aircrafts and helicopters.

and equipment. The company boasts excellent relationships with various local municipalities, emergency services, private companies, as well as local mines involved in emergency work. Langamed is affiliated to the Health Professional Council of South Africa, the Board of HealthCare Council, the SA Emergency Service Institute, the Fire Protection Association of South Africa and the Fire Fighting Equipment Traders’ Association. Social responsibility programme The company supports the Arrive Alive Campaign – Easter Project, the annual Great Train Race, the Loskop marathon and participates in fundraising for

Case history Some of the more challenging incidents Langamed has responded to, include accidents in mist that are extremely challenging, dangerous and frightening. It is incomprehensible that, when visibility is almost zero, some drivers still find the need to speed through the misty environment. “When accidents occur, the screeching of tyres and people screaming out for help can be heard from a distance, “ says Padayachee. At an incident in 2013, a truck slammed into the back of another that was carrying pigs. It was sad to see after the mist had cleared, that the highway was strewn with dead and injured pigs. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals (SPCA) was called in to euthanise more than 30 injured animals. “In yet another mist accident on a highway, a truck ploughed through 10 vehicles and landed in a water stream. The driver was trapped in the cab of the vehicle, which landed upside down inside the water. Rescue staff worked in icy waters filled with diesel and oil, to extricate the driver. The extrication exercise took about 6 hours”, Padayachee said.

Staff complement Five advanced, 72 intermediate and 51 basic life support paramedics, two fire and rescue management specialists, two learner firemen, six dispatch control crew and 10 administration staff members, constitute the staff at Langamed. Vehicle fleet The fleet consists of seven response vehicles, 30 ambulances featuring state of the art equipment, two fire engines and a rescue vehicle. Response vehicles are (manned 24/7) by paramedics and or fire fighters and are all equipped with GPS. Padayachee says their ability to provide excellent service lies within the strength of the company’s human resources 50

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Bennet Tjie, Balan Padayachee, Vusi Rhadebe

Working on Fire Helderberg

Fighting fire in the floral kingdom

The Helderberg area is situated in South Africa’s fynbos biome

orking on Fire (WoF) was launched in September 2003 as part of the South African government’s initiative to create jobs and alleviate poverty. Today, WoF employs more than 5 000 young men and women who have been fully trained as veld and forest fire fighters and are stationed in more than 200 teams throughout South Africa. The Helderberg WoF team The WoF Helderberg team is based at the beautiful Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West, in the Western Cape in South Africa and primarily serves the Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association (CPFP) East ward of the City of Cape Town. This area ranges from just before the small seaside town of Rooi-Els to Mitchell’s Plain, skirting the large Stellenbosch Municipality. Helderberg WoF, with its base partner, the CPFPA, not only have to deal with the high fire risk along the urban wildlands interface but also the diversity of the area that presents particular problems. During 52

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fire season, their main function is fire suppression and outside of fire season, fire prevention work, such as clearing firebreaks, alien clearing and prescribed burning, to reduce fuel loads as well as advocacy work. The Helderberg WoF team was established towards the end of 2012 and has been serving the community for about a year and a half. In this time the Helderberg WoF team has been involved in the following activities: • Fire fighting suppression activities in the Somerset West and Sir Lowry’s Pass area • Prescribed burning work in the Somerset West, Sir Lowry’s Pass and Gordon’s Bay area • Cutting fire breaks for Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) from Sir Lowry’s Pass, which is considered a massive fire risk in the area • Assisting Lourensford Estate with stack burning, cutting of fire breaks, alien clearing and chopping wood to assist in offsetting the cost thereof. The staff at Helderberg The staff comprises of 23 members, with Zingisile Tyhalisi as base manager.

All members of the Helderberg WoF is yellow card certified, with at least advanced fire fighting training, fully kitted out with personal protective equipment (PPE) and equipped with hand tools such as beaters, rake-hoes and knapsacks. Crew leaders also have a handheld weather meter to measure weather conditions during burning operations and a measuring wheel to measure production. The team also has two brushcutters and two chainsaws, complete with operators and full personal protective equipment (PPE), herbicide applicators, a first aider, a safety, health and environment (SHE) representative and a driver. The Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association (CPFPA) The CPFPA was established in 2003 and has subsequently extended its boundaries taking over all fire protection associations (FPA) within the City of Cape Town (CoCT) Metropolitan, including the old Helderberg FPA and the Cape West Coast FPA and now including Gordon’s Bay and the Cape Flats, previously not covered by an

Working on Fire Helderberg FPA. CPFPA follows the same ward divisions as the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue, including the East ward, which includes Somerset West, Eerste River, the Cape Flats area, the West ward with Cape Town, the southern suburbs and the peninsula area, as well as the North ward, incorporating Atlantis, Durbanville and the northern suburbs area. CPFPA has partnered with Lourensford Wine Estate that provides office space to the East ward manager of CPFPA as well as a base to the Helderberg WoF team, in exchange for increased fire protection and preventative measures, by virtue of having the team based on the property. This year, Lourensford has created a specialised base including a standby, storage and parade area for the team’s office space for the base manager and crew leaders and toilet facilities. There is also a designated gardening area so the team members can grow their own vegetables. Social responsibility CPFPA has designed an integrated fire awareness school programme, in conjunction with other role players and the Helderberg team was instrumental in the implementation thereof last year. It is hoped that this programme will be rolled out again this summer as a precursor to fire season. The floral kingdom area The Helderberg area, situated in the fynbos biome also includes high-end housing, farms, many guesthouses and a thriving tourism. The fynbos biome is one of the six floral kingdoms and while it is the smallest, it is also the most diverse. Furthermore, the Helderberg basin is a water catchment area, which is an important ecosystem service of providing water.

The Helderberg Working on Fire team

Additional hazards in the area include a large amount of invasive alien vegetation, Eucalyptus and Pinus plantations that increase the fuel load. Additional hazards include open and unauthorised access, close proximity to railway lines, major public roads and power lines, some older fynbos coupled with quite often extreme weather conditions during fire season. A unique challenge presented in the CPFPA East ward area, is the diversity in terms of landowners, their various activities and capacity, different mind sets, as well as the potential for three municipalities to be involved in the same fire. According to Andrie Sommers, east ward manager of the Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association (CPFPA), with regards to manageability, “I feel a collective improved situation over the last few years with regards to coordination and communication. Within the City of Cape Town (CoCT), the fire and rescue services are very well resourced. The presence of Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association within the area has assisted greatly with regards to overall coordination and providing an ideal platform for communication.” CPFPA also has suppression and preventative production capability throughout the Helderberg region and in conjunction with the WoF team. “We are fortunate to have excellent working relationships within the CPFPA East ward, as well as with our neighbours and as such can also draw from nearby WoF teams based outside out boundaries,” says Sommers. Risk Risk is calculated taking into account the value, be it social, including recreational, religious, educational, economic areas such as agricultural

The WoF team also undertakes clearing of invasive and alien vegetation

practices, forestry and property or environmental, concerning rare and endangered species, veld types and ecosystem services of an area. The likelihood of a fire starting and the manageability is also considered. Fire history of the area The recent fire history of the area includes a major fire in 2008 in Gordon’s Bay and a large fire, spanning The City of Cape Town and the Overberg and Stellenbosch municipalities in the Helderberg basin, in 2009. In December 2013, two separate fires flared in the Steenbras Dam catchment area and what was known as the Casa Mara fire. In February 2014, a fire raged across Sir Lowry’s Pass. However, the current fire season has been rather quiet across the board. The CPFPA and the Helderberg WoF team have a very good relationship with the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue services and have slotted under them as per the incident command structure (ICS) to share knowledge and experience. Says Sommers; “I know CPFPA as their base partner is very proud to have such a motivated and successful WoF team based here on Lourensford Wine Estate. I feel the CPFPA having response and production capabilities through the WoF team, have helped entice new FPA members and thus has assisted with the communication of the fire community. I think the work the team has done with regards to both fire suppression and production work has also been incredible beneficial for the area. I personally am incredibly proud of how well the Helderberg WoF team is currently performing and I wish to take this opportunity to thank Lourensford Wine Estate for accommodating our base.”

The team at the entrance of the beautiful Lourensford Wine Estate where their offices are situated Volume 3 No. 1

Training

Training the heroes of tomorrow her career in the emergency services in 1991 in the then Germiston City Council and has worked her way through the ranks. With the formation of Ekurhuleni, training had to be centralised and she was transferred from the Germiston training centre to the training academy in Boksburg. Geldenhuys qualified with a higher diploma in fire technology, as advanced life support paramedic, a hazmat technician and registered assessor and moderator. Currently, she is vice-chairperson of SAESIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accreditation committee and also works closely with the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA), writing new qualifications for the industry.

Thousands of South African trainees passed through the gates of the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services Training Academy in Boksburg

ince 1987, literally thousands of South African trainees, on their way to becoming fire fighters, have passed through the gates of the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services Training Academy situated in Boksburg in Gauteng. The centre was one of the few centres in the country that had received accreditation to present the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) training and was built and opened with the Leon Ferreira Fire Station in March 1987, before all nine previous town councils were amalgamated as one city in 2000. This meant all the emergency services fire brigades had to work together.

In 1987, training was done based on the British Standard. In 1992, the South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI) received the IFSAC accreditation. Training at the centre has been extended since the first accreditation and plans are to further extend it in the near future. Many of the qualified fire fighters around the country have been trained at this academy as it not only offers fire fighter qualifications but other unit standards education as well. At the helm of the centre today is Theresa Geldenhuys as acting senior district manager, training. She started

Training at the centre has been extended since first accreditation 56

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Accreditation The centre received their Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA) accreditation in 2006 and currently is accredited to present the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) registered qualifications, as well as several other unit standards. Programmes currently presented at the academy, are based on SAESI and SAQA requirements. Since 2011, it also boasts a Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) accreditation from the University of Johannesburg for several continuous professional development (CPD) activities. In 1992, the academy received accreditation through SAESI to run several of the IFSAC programs. Currently, it is accredited to present fire fighter I and II, hazmat awareness and operations,

Training is of the highest standard

Training

A municipal training academy, training is guided by city and municipal policies fire service instructor I, fire and life safety educator I and II and public information officer courses. The trainers Geldenhuys and nine other Instructors teach at the academy, with an additional three vacancies that are in the process of being filled. The volume of learners at the academy depends on the programmes being run at any given time. The majority of equipment and resources are dedicated to the training academy but operational resources are sometimes used when specialised training is done. The instructors boast a variety of qualifications, with fire qualifications ranging from fire fighter II to a B Tech degree in Fire Technology. The emergency medical service (EMS) qualifications range from basic ambulance assistant to a Master’s Degree in emergency medical care. Some instructors are hazmat and rescue technicians. Most of these qualifications were obtained from tertiary institutions around the country. Training offered As this academy is a municipal training facility, it is guided by the policies of the city and the department. The targeted audiences, mainly as far as other unit standards are concerned, are internal municipal employees and local nongovernmental organisations (NGO’s) for safety compliances purposes. For academic qualifications, in line with the profession itself as fire fighters, other emergency services fire fighters are trained at Boksburg. The academy mostly provides training

Everyone at the centre strives to be the best

for Ekurhuleni staff members and employees from other municipalities but also provide training for small quantities of private learners. Facilities It features four class rooms, large drilling grounds and a hot fire training area, where the majority of practical training is done. Some of the instructors have undergone and completed specialised training in order to offer specialised training programmes and all instructors have dual qualifications; fire and rescue and EMS qualifications. The centre only assists with physical evaluations that are part of the recruitment process. After students qualify from the academy, the contract ends on the last day of

the course, when students are also briefed on how to engage with other stakeholders. Geldenhuys says, “Everyone at the training centre strives to be the best.” The motto at the academy, ‘We provide training to learners in order to make them better than what we were when we were at that level of training,’ clearly spells out its commitment to quality, discipline, responsibility and accountability at all times. “Refusing to sacrifice quality for quantity is what makes the academy the success it is. For those involved in training future fire fighters, it is not just a job, but a lifelong commitment to excellence, to benefit those who, in future, may need to be saved,” says Geldenhuys.

Some of the trainers, Theresa Geldenhuys, SSM Sakoane, SB Scott, BM Mdluli Middle: M Moonsamy, B Dube, L Pretorius, P Hugo, J Finger Some staff members were absent when photo was taken Volume 3 No. 1

Heritage

History of the leather helmet

The leather helmet is an international sign of a fire fighter

acobus Turck of New York City is credited with inventing the first fire cap around 1740. It was round with a high crown and narrow rim and was made of leather. Improvements on his design were made by Mathew DuBois, who sewed iron wire in to the edge of the brim to give the helmet shape and strength and provide resistance to heat, moisture and warping. The leather helmet, as it is known today, came from a very modest and non-fire related beginning. Although the year the traditional fire helmet was invented is mired in speculation and debate, it is generally agreed upon as sometime between 1821 and 1836. The gentleman credited with its founding was named Henry T Gratacap. Gratacap was a volunteer fireman in New York City but made his living as a luggage maker. He had made quite a name for himself because of his innovative luggage specifically designed for ocean transit. It was made of leather that was specially treated, which offered unparalleled durability and withstood wetness without rotting. These qualities were very desirable in a fire helmet as well and Gratacap designed the first ‘eight comb’ (a design composed of eight segments) fire helmet. It was named the ‘New Yorker’ and originally adopted by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in the late 1800s. 58

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The New Yorker helmet has remained virtually unchanged through approximately 168 years of faithful and steadfast service. The New Yorker helmet retains the same look and quality that generations after generations of fire fighters have relied upon. They are made of stout tanned Western cowhide, 2,5cm thick, reinforced with leather strips that rise like Gothic arches inside the crown. The long duckbill, or beavertail, which sticks out at the rear, is to keep water from running down firemen’s necks. Originally, these helmets were sometimes worn backwards so the beavertail would protect its wearer from the intense heat of fire fighting. Additionally, some tillermen (a name for the driver of the rear section of a tractor drawn aerial truck) would also wear them backwards to protect their faces from rain and snow. During this time, two brothers named Cairns were operating a metal badge button and insignia business in New York City. The Cairns Brothers are credited with the idea of mounting an identification badge to the front of Gratacap’s helmets; today these are known as front pieces.

The two companies operated cooperatively until Gratacap’s retirement sometime in the 1850s, when the Cairns & Brother legacy was born; Cairns & Brother has pioneered fire fighter helmet technology ever since. Cairns & Brother’s commitment to protecting lives is evident in their ‘systems’, where engineered components synergistically work together for unparalleled protection in harsh environments. The original OSHA compliant leather helmet, is individually hand shaped, hand trimmed and hand stitched to meet the strenuous demands of today’s most dangerous profession – fire fighting. The leatherhead is a term used for a fire fighter who uses the leather helmet for protection from the hazards we face every day on the streets. The leather helmet is an international sign of a fire fighter, a symbol that is significant in not only tradition from the early years of fire fighting but one of bravery, integrity, honour and pride. This helmet is a sign of who we are, not what we are. Leather forever! Source: http://salisburyfools.com

Dress caps, which were worn at fires from the 1910s through the late 1940s. Then the plastic helmets arrived with leather shields

Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital

Children’s Trust alleviates funding burden of the Red Cross Hospital

Red Cross Children’s War Memorial Hospital in Rondebosch, Cape Town

he Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital is South Africa’s largest tertiary hospital dedicated to child health offering a comprehensive range of specialist paediatric services to children.

Children from all nine provinces and from all over Africa are referred to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital by referral hospitals, clinics and smaller hospitals. The hospital is also active in paediatric outreach and support programmes across South Africa.

doctors and nurses, as well as the development of new buildings at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, which is based in Rondebosch, Cape Town. Over the past 20 years since its formation in 1994, the trust has also assisted in the purchasing of vital equipment and funding critical training and research programmes at the children’s hospital.

While the health department within the Western Cape Government funds the full operational budget of the hospital to the tune of around R520 million per annum, the Children’s Hospital Trust (CHT) is the dedicated fund raising sister organisation to the hospital.

Driver says that the overall objective of the trust is to capacitate more levels of healthcare in the Western Cape, both primary and secondary, so that each paediatric facility is able to perform optimally along the healing journey of a child and can contribute to a more rapid recovery. She says that this ultimately alleviates the burden on the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.

“It’s been about 10 years since the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital was threatened with closure owing to budgetary constraints, which is when the CHT was formed. The CHT’s fundraising is integral to keep the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital on the cutting edge of paediatric healthcare in Africa and globally on a par”, says CHT CEO, Louise Driver. She says that upgrades to the hospital are funded from the fundraising efforts of the CHT, which also enables training African paediatric

“Through funding gaps in paediatric healthcare, the Children’s Hospital Trust is able to impact more broadly on the quality of healthcare for children at more community touch-points. This has resulted in even more children being granted the best possible chance of living the life they were destined for,” says Driver. “Projects and programmes prioritised by the trust will always impact directly on child healthcare and indirectly on services and outcomes at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital,” she adds. Volume 3 No. 1

Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Eight dedicated operating theatres: • Emergency and septic orthopedics theatre • Burns theatre • Neurosurgery and spinal orthopedics theatre (digitalised) • General endoscopic theatre (digitalised) • Urology and plastics theatre (digitalised) • Cardiac theatre • Ophthalmology (eye) theatre • Ear, nose and throat (ENT) and scopes theatre

Louise Driver

Roxy Mitchell

Projects The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital is regarded as South Africa’s leading centre for postgraduate specialist paediatric medical and surgical training. The hospital’s tertiary facility provides comprehensive dedicated paediatric services with a full range of subspecialties at quaternary, tertiary and secondary levels of care. The CHT has played an integral role in developing this cutting edge infrastructure and facilities at the hospital. Roxy Mitchell says that the CHT enabled the upgrade and equipping of Africa’s only specialised paediatric burns unit within a dedicated children’s hospital in 2011. The new development featured modernised facilities on a par with the intensive care unit (ICU) level of international standards in critical care.

Last year, CHT was also able to raise funds for the Centre for Childhood Infectious Diseases, a R20 million project that incorporated the existing Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit (PIDU) and the Research Centre for Adolescent and Child Health (REACH) Unit. The PIDU works primarily with stable patients with infectious diseases. Between 2004 and 2009 the HIV mortality rate at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town decreased by 68 percent as a direct result of the treatment the children received in PIDU, notes Mitchell.

In 2009, a new state-of-the-art operating theatre complex worth R125 million was built and equipped at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. The funding administered by the trust enabled the building of eight fully specialised operating theatres for various sub-specialties with three being fully digitalised for audio-visual training and conferencing.

Currently, the trust is involved in a few fundraising projects that includes providing an improved paediatric rehabilitation programme for patients at St Joseph’s for Chronically Ill Children in Cape Town, as well as providing an inpatient paediatric palliative care service at the Sarah Fox Children’s Convalescent Hospital, which provides holistic paediatric palliative care for children with lifethreatening life-limiting illnesses.

The digital platform is the first of its kind and sophistication in sub-Saharan Africa and is technically on a par with the most advanced installations in the USA, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.

Organisational structure “The Children’s Hospital Trust is governed by a board of trustees, which is a group of individuals who contribute their skills and expertise without reward,” states Driver.

Children from all over Africa are referred to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital

Mitchell mentions that the CHT successfully undertook the funding of a training programmes at the hospital, where 36 African doctors through the African Paediatric Fellowship Programme and 158 nurses through the Child Nurse Practice Development Initiative from around South Africa and Africa received specialised paediatric training from 2007 to date.

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The Children’s Hospital Trust impacts broadly on the quality of healthcare for children in South Africa

Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital The trust has a board of 14 trustees and an executive committee of six trustees. There are also various governing subcommittees in the trust that includes the capital works committee, audit and risk committee, investment committee, programme evaluation committee and a foundation board. The CHT CEO, Louise Driver, heads up a team consisting of four managers in four disciplines namely communications, project management, finance and fundraising making up a complement of 21 full time personnel. The trust is recognised both locally and globally as ‘a strategic and innovative fundraising organisation with an exemplary track record in donor stewardship’. This is evidenced by CEO Driver, being named Southern Africa Fundraiser of the Year at the 2013 Southern Africa Institute of Fundraising Convention. Driver also received the Global Fundraiser Award at Resource Alliance’s International Fundraising Congress in the Netherlands last year. Mitchell says that the trust has an ‘incredible public-private partnership’ with the Western Cape Government: Health and the CHT’s many donors. These include charitable trusts and foundations, companies and their staff, schools, clubs, societies and the very many individual donors from our communities, making up the principle funding sources for the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town. Challenges “The corporate social investment budgets of corporate firms in South Africa have decreased, posing a challenge for the CHT in its fundraising efforts”, states Driver. “The huge need for improved child healthcare services in the province and the country means that there are a large number of projects for the Children’s Hospital Trust to consider funding. Our building projects are high-budget projects so takes time to raise the necessary funding,” says Driver.

Doctors and nursing staff at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town

She says that the vision of the trust is to be recognised as a strategic fundraiser and funder in child healthcare, a good custodian of donor funds, excelling in in child healthcare donor communication and driving partnerships within and between the private and public sector. “We envision leading the way in paediatric healthcare fundraising and funding, while building an international profile and in so doing changing the face of paediatric healthcare in the Western Cape, South Africa and beyond,” concludes Driver.

She says that another challenge is that 100 percent of the trust funds raised goes to a project. “We do not fundraise for our operational costs, which are covered by the interest from our endowment fund. This means that our operational budget is very tight.” She adds, “Overseas funding dried up over the past few years what with the global economic crisis but hopefully will improve in the near future.” Historic milestone “The Children’s Hospital Trust is celebrated its 20th birthday on 14 February this year”, states Driver. She furthermore says that it is the generosity and support of donors that has made it possible to serve the medical needs of the many children suffering from various illnesses in South Africa and in Africa. “The Children’s Hospital Trust’s 20th birthday commemorates the collective achievements and successful fundraising with donors and partners, who have all contributed to giving back childhood to thousands of sick children, with the added assurance that 100 percent of all donations go directly to the projects we fund,” assures Driver. Volume 3 No. 1

What’s on?

2014 September 1 September 2014 South African Qualification and Certification Committee assessment session Venue: FPASA College, 105 Springbok Road, Bartlett, Boksburg, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 2 – 4 September 2014 SIPS – 6th South Russian International Protection and Security Exhibition The international specialised exhibition for protection, security and fire safety in southern Russia, and guides business to manufacturing competitive products which meet international quality standards. Venue: Kuban Expocentre, Krasnodar, Russia Contact: Agnius Kazlauskas Tel: 00 0440 207 596 5079 Email: agnius.kazlauskas @ite-exhibitions.com For more information visit: www.sips-expo.ru 2 – 5 September 2014 2014 AFAC and Bushfire CRC conference - After disaster strikes, learning from adversity Australasia’s largest and most important emergency services and public safety conference and trade exhibition Venue: Wellington, New Zealand For more information visit: www.afac.com.au/events/conference 3 September 2014 FPASA Fire fighting and evacuation model Basic theory and practical exercises for the use of portable fire extinguishers and hosereels on incipient stage fires. It covers duties and responsibilities of fire marshals during an emergency Venue: FPASA College, 105 Springbok Road, Bartlett, Boksburg, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 3 – 5 September 2014 IFSEC Southeast Asia 2014 Created from the leading regional events ISF and FIREC provides visitors with the opportunity to network, source new products and hear the latest issues and developments from the industry. The event will play host to the most renowned security and fire organisations in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Venue: Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia For more information visit: www.ifsecsea.com 8 – 9 September 2014 International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) ITLS courses are designed for providers who are first to evaluate and stabilise the trauma patient. The courses provide complete training in the skills needed for rapid assessment, resuscitation, stabilisation and transportation of trauma patients Venue: Action Training Academy, Fourways, South Africa Contact: Gugulethu More Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: gugulethu.more @ata-international.com

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8 – 11 September 2014 FPASA Workplace Fire fighting I A programme covering practical fire fighting for incipient stage/small fires including the use of extinguishers, foam equipment, large diameter hose and BA if required Venue: FPASA College, 105 Springbok Road, Bartlett, Boksburg, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 8 – 12 September 2014 FPASA Fundamentals of fire investigation The programme will promote a clear understanding of fire investigation and the rendering of opinion regarding origin and cause. It includes practical investigation exercises and is now aligned with NFPA 921 Venue: FPASA College, 105 Springbok Road, Bartlett, Boksburg, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 10 – 13 September 2014 SAEC Fire Challenge Venue: 1 Ardeer Road, Modderfontein, Kempton Park, South Africa Contact: Events Tel: 011 608 0907 15 September 2014 Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (BLS) Participants will be able to perform the initial steps of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in victims of all ages, basic airway manoeuvres and rescue breathing with and without adjuncts Venue: Action Training Academy, Fourways, South Africa Contact: Gugulethu More Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: gugulethu.more @ata-international.com 15 September 2014 Basic fire fighting module The basic theory of fire, methods of extinguishment, components, operations and practical use of fire extinguishers and hose reels Venue: FPASA College, 105 Springbok Road, Bartlett, Boksburg, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 15 – 17 September 2014 Fire Rescue Canada Topics such as inclusion, respectful workplace, mental health both in the community and within the service, social media, fire literacy and many more Venue: Ottowa, Ontario, Canada Contact: CAFC’s director of events and operation Email vroper@cafc.ca Tel: 00 1 613 301 8369 For more information visit: www. cafc.ca/en 15 – 19 September 2014 Disaster Risk Reduction DMISA Conference The annual disaster management conference for Africa in partnership with Northumbria University Venue: Sibaya-Imbizo Conference Centre, Umhlanga Rocks, Kwa-zulu Natal, South Africa Contact: Karin Muller Tel: 011 822 1634 Email: Karin@disaster.co.za

15 – 19 September 2014 Wildland Fire Investigation FFA Training in collaboration with Incendium Fire Investigation will be presenting this unique opportunity for land-use managers, incident managers and policy makers. Venue: Working on Fire Academy, Nelspruit, South Africa Contact: Stephen Devine Tel: 013 741 1119 or 076 390 5346 Email: Stephen.devine@wofire.co.za 16 – 17 September 2014 Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Candidates will be competent to recognise and initiate the management of cardiac arrest and peri-arrest conditions Venue: Action Training Academy, Fourways, South Africa Contact: Gugulethu More Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: gugulethu.more @ata-international.com 17 September 2014 FIM Expo The Fire Industry Manufacturers’ (FIM) Expo provides fire detection installers and maintainers across the country with the perfect opportunity to catch up with what’s new from all the UK’s leading fire detection manufacturers Venue: Titanic Centre, Belfast, UK For more information visit: www.fia.uk.com/en/fim-expo/ 18 – 20 September 2014 ECSSA 2014 Conference First contact to final outcome: Evolution of Prehospital Emergency Care Venue: Maropeng, in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site Contact: Benjamin van Nugteren Tel: 082 732 6598 For more information visit: www.ecssa.org.za 18 – 21 September 2014 ISAF 18th Exhibition ISAF Exhibition 18th edition will cover the following five exhibitions in 2014: ISAF Security, ISAF Fire, ISAF Safety and Health, ISAF IT Security, ISAF Smart Houses Venue: Istanbul Expo Centre, Istanbul For more information visit: www.isaffuari.com 21 – 28 September 2014 National Burn Association of South Africa (NBASA) ‘Zero Burns’ Week Outreach and awareness project For more information visit: http://www.nbasa.org.za/ 23 – 25 September 2014 XIII International Exhibition Forum Protection Technologies ‘2014 Technogenic and industrial safety, personal and collective protective equipment, occupational safety, technical equipping of the rescue squads, liquidation of consequences of natural disasters Venue: International Exhibition Centre, Kiev, Ukraine For more information visit: www.iec-expo.com.ua/en/ 24 – 25 September 2014 The Emergency Services Show This event showcases a vast range of cuttingedge products and services that can increase resilience to emergencies Venue: NEC Birmingham, UK For more information visit: www.emergencyuk.com

24 – 26 September 2014 SIPS – 23rd Siberian International Fire Fighting, Emergency and Rescue Exhibition Provides a platform for international and domestic security companies seeking to expand within Russia Venue: International Exhibition Centre Siberian Fair, Novosibirsk, Russia Contact: Agnius Kazlauskas Tel: 044 (0) 207 596 5079 Email: Agnius.Kazlauskas @ite-exhibitions.com For more information visit: www.sips-siberia.ru 29 – 30 September 1014 Basic Life Support Instructor Course (BLS I) All instructors must have a valid BLS instructor certificate and have a firm, working knowledge of the training materials, including textbooks and certificates to be issued for each specific course Venue: Action Training Academy, Fourways, South Africa Contact: Gugulethu More Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: gugulethu.more @ata-international.com 29 September – 2 October 2014 Aircraft Rescue and Fire fighting Working Group (ARFFWG) 25th annual conference and training symposium This is the premier event for the aviation fire fighting industry. This four day conference will be packed with seminars, workshops and the opportunity to network with fellow airport fire fighters and industry experts from around the world Venue: Moody Gardens Hotel, Galveston, Texas, USA Contact: Barbara Haas Tel: 00 817 409 1100 Email: info@arffwg.org For more information visit: www.arffwg.org

October 1 – 2 October 2014 FIVE Fire in Vehicles 2014 Fire development in vehicles, fire risks in vehicles with alternative fuels, fire detection and fire suppression in vehicles, statistics and insurance issues, incident management and case studies For more visit www.firesinvehicles.com 3 October 2014 Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (BLS) Participants will be able to perform the initial steps of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in victims of all ages, basic airway manoeuvres and rescue breathing with and without adjuncts Venue: Action Training Academy, Fourways, South Africa Contact: Gugulethu More Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: gugulethu.more @ata-international.com 4 – 5 October 2014 Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Candidates will be competent to recognise and initiate the management of cardiac arrest and peri-arrest conditions Venue: Action Training Academy, Fourways, South Africa Contact: Gugulethu More Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: gugulethu.more @ata-international.com 6 – 8 October 2014 2nd Biannual Conference of the Southern Africa

Society for Disaster Reduction Jointly hosted by University of Namibia and Southern Africa Society for Disaster Reduction Venue: Safari Hotel, Namibia Contact: Joyce Shipale Email: jlnmajova@unam.na For more information visit: www.sasdir.org 6 – 8 October 2014 Conduct a Risk Assessment LG SETA NQF Level 5 accredited skills development in disaster risk management programme course Venue: 263 Jean Ave, Lyttleton, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Francis Tel: 083 285 0195 or 012 664 3192 Email: francis@dms-online.co.za 6 – 10 October 2014 Fire appliance reconditioning A course designed to provide learners with a working knowledge of the correct measures to be taken to restore an extinguisher or hose-reel to full operational readiness Venue: FPASA College, 105 Springbok Road, Bartlett, Boksburg, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 8 – 16 October 2014 ABC Challenge Hike or bike 500km along the Garden Route to Cape Town. In aid of Phoenix Burns Project For more information go to: www.abc-challenge.com 9 – 12 October 2014 World Rescue Challenge London It is the most prestigious international event for the fire and rescue services. The event will see fire fighters from across the world competing with each other in emergency rescue skills. It will display how these fire fighters rescue people from crushed cars, collapsed buildings and great heights or from the water. It also helps them to learn different techniques from other teams and incorporate it within their work to make it more fast and safe. Venue: The Fire Service College, London, United Kingdom For further information visit: www.wrescue.org/ 10 – 11 October 2014 Heightsafety African Rope Safety Championships Conference and competition Venue: Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa For more information visit: www.heightsafety.co.za 13 – 15 October 2014 Task Force Leader and Strike Team Leader Course Course detail: Describe the responsibility for managing and supervising task force/strike team resources, reporting, record keeping and after action requirements Venue: Cape Town Lodge, Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Michelle Kleinhans Tel: 013 741 1119 or 078 272 9089 Email: michelle.kleinhans@wofire.co.za 13 – 15 October 2014 Resources Unit Leader Course Course Detail: Describe the related responsibilities to resource status systems, planning process and implementing a demobilisation plan

Venue: Cape Town Lodge, Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Michelle Kleinhans Tel: 013 741 1119 or 078 272 9089 Email: michelle.kleinhans@wofire.co.za 13 – 17 October 2014 Principles of fire safety engineering Venue: Summit Place Guest House, Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 13 – 17 October 2014 Fire Prevention and Strategies Theory of fire, legislation, components, operation and use of extinguishers, flammable liquids and gases, hot work, fire hazards of electrical equipment/installations, components/operation/site control of sprinklers and automatic fire detection systems, the organisation and management of fire teams and occupational fire brigades Venue: FPASA College, 105 Springbok Road, Bartlett, Boksburg, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 14 – 16 October 2014 15th International Conference on Automatic Fire Detection – AUBE ‘14 Venue: Katholische Akademie ‘Die Wolfsburg’, Falkenweg, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany For more information visit: nts.uni-duisburg-essen.de 14 – 16 October 2014 International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) ITLS courses are designed for providers who are first to evaluate and stabilise the trauma patient. The courses provide complete training in the skills needed for rapid assessment, resuscitation, stabilisation and transportation of trauma patients Venue: Action Training Academy, Fourways, South Africa Contact: Gugulethu More Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: gugulethu.more @ata-international.com 15 – 17 October 2014 Division Supervisor and Group Supervisor Course Course detail: Describe the duties and responsibilities required for a division/group supervisor Venue: Cape Town Lodge, Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Michelle Kleinhans Tel: 013 741 1119 or 078 272 9089 Email: michelle.kleinhans@wofire.co.za 15 – 17 October 2014 Situation Unit Leader Course Course detail: Describe the duties and responsibilities of a situation unit leader with an overview of how to activate, set-up, organise and manage the unit Venue: Cape Town Lodge, Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Michelle Kleinhans Tel: 013 741 1119 or 078 272 9089 Email: michelle.kleinhans@wofire.co.za

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Poem

“Thank you for your service” Brother when you weep for me, Remember that it was meant to be Lay me down and when you leave, Remember I’ll be at your sleeve In every dark and choking hall I’ll be there as you slowly crawl In every roof in driving snow, I’ll hold your coat and you will know In cellars hot with searing heat, At windows where a gate you meet In closets where young children hide, You know I will be at your side The house from which I now respond, Is over staffed with hero’s gone Men who answered that one last bell, Did their job and did it well As firemen we understand That death is a card dealt in our hand A card we hope we never play But one we hold there anyway That card is something we ignore, As we crawl across a weakened floor For we know we are the only prayer For anyone who might be there So remember as you wipe the tears, The joy I knew throughout the years As I did the job I love to do, I pray that though will see you through Author: Sarah Marine

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