Fire and Rescue International Vol 3 No 10 by Fire and Rescue International

Strap

Integrated fire, rescue, EMS and incident command technology

Volume 3 No 10

Contents 2

Comment

Competition 3 FRI Images Informal settlement fires 4 Informal settlement fires: reducing the risk of fires through partnerships and community education – by MM Khangale 8 Overstrand implements pilot shack fire project 9 Safer paraffin stoves launched in Ekurhuleni, South Africa 12 New project introduces fire retardant paint to shacks 14 Lumkani fire detection technology reduces fire risks News 16 City of Ekurhuleni opens new fire station in Duduza 17 Volunteer Wildfire Services holds open day South Africa Incident Command System Working Group 18 South African ICS Working Team meeting at Melkbosstrand SAESI Conference and Expo 2015 21 SAESI Conference and Expo 2015, South Africa 25 STAT Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Challenge 26 South Africa Emergency Care (SAEC) Scott Safety

Rescue roundup: World Rescue Challenge 2015 59 World Rescue Challenge 2015 held in Portugal - by Neville van Rensburg and Julius Fleischman Fire protection association 61 The Lowveld and Escarpment Fire Protection Association Western Cape summer fire season 63 Western Cape summer fire season launched 64 CPFPA fire preparedness 2015/2016 Leadership 67 Competent team members - by Wayne Bailey International Wildland Fire Conference 2015 68 Korea hosts International Wildland Fire Conference 2015 – by Tessa Olivier Heritage 69 History of fire extinguishers What’s on? 70 Fire, disaster and rescue related events across the globe Poem 72 How much does a paramedic make?

Fire Fighter Rescue Challenge 28 New world record set by EMS industry members 29 MSA High Angle Challenge 30 Holmatro Extrication Challenge 33 SAESI Exhibition Working on Fire 36 Working on Fire prepared firebreaks for Transnet Freight Rail The Golden Hour in vehicle rescue 38 The Golden Hour in vehicle rescue: still relevant? – by Colin Deiner High-rise building fires 44 Fires in high-rise buildings – tactical objectives - by Ian Schnetler

Fire service 49 Swakopmund Fire and Rescue, small but dedicated Wildfires 54 So, who is responsible for managing wildfires in the urban interface? - by Zane Erasmus Incident Command System (ICS) 56 Disaster Management Training in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa – by Ronald R Spadafora Volume 3 | No 10

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Comment Editor Lee Raath-Brownie lee@fireandrescue.co Cell 082 371 0190 Journalist Claudette van Rensburg edit@fireandrescue.co Cell 071 641 3884 Advertising advertising@fireandrescue.co Cell 079 107 3967 Design and layout Marc Raath marc@fireandrescue.co Digital newsletter Pierre du Plessis Finance Noddie Knibbs accounts@fireandrescue.co Circulation Vicki Jacob subs@fireandrescue.co Secretary Vicki Jacob pa@fireandrescue.co Administration Mirriam Moroane Contributions USA Wayne Bailey Ronald Spadafora Timothy Murphy Africa Colin Deiner Ian Schnetler Julius Fleischman Neville van Rensburg Moses Kgangale Lloyd Phetlhu Zane Erasmus Publisher Lee Raath-Brownie FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL Tel 011 452 3135/6 Fax 086 671 6920 Box 8299 Greenstone 1616 www.fireandrescue.co 4 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Fire and Rescue International (FRI) proudly presents the 34th bumper edition, filled with news, reviews, events and practical advice. Enjoy the read! Informal settlement fires Shack or informal settlement fires are certainly not unique to South Africa. However, it does present its own challenges, not only in the suppression of these hazardous fires but also to the safety of the responders. We investigate the possible prevention and mitigation methods to reduce the impact of these fires.

Lee Raath-Brownie

South Africa Incident Command System Working Group (SA ICS) We provide an overview of the proceedings of the South Africa Incident Command System (SA ICS) Working Group recently-held meeting in Melkbosstrand in the Western Cape, detailing the issues discussed and the way forward. SAESI Conference and Expo 2015 We review the SAESI Conference and Expo 2015 and provide a photographic reflection of the conference, exhibition and challenges. The Golden Hour in vehicle rescue Colin Deiner questions whether the ‘Golden hour’ is still relevant in vehicle rescue, providing history behind the ‘golden hour’ and unpacks the 60 minutes, detailing each phase of the motor accident (MVA) value chain, optimising each minute. High-rise fires: tactical objectives The next instalment of Ian Schnetler’s article featuring fires in high-rise buildings focuses on tactical objectives. Schnetler details the tactical objectives from first arriving on scene at a multi storey structural fire to initial attack. Fire service Our fire service profile in this issue features Swakopmund Fire and Rescue in Namibia. We met with Chief fire officer Adri Goosen in Swakopmund during our visit to Namibia and provide a historic overview of this small but proficient service and some insight into its current operations, structure, competencies and challenges. Wildfires Fire suppression plans for the urban fire service forms the final part of the four part series, written by Zane Erasmus, which aims to provide insight on the responsibilities of managing wildfires in the urban interface. Incident command system (ICS) Chief Ron Spadafora (FDNY) and Tim Murphy, (US Forest Services) reviews recent ICS training in the Eastern Cape, providing some back ground to the origins of ICS and basic structure of the system. Rescue roundup Julius Fleischman and Neville van Rensburg review the World Rescue Challenge 2015 held in Portugal and its results. We urge our rescue technicians to take part in the 2016 competition, which will be held in Brazil. Fire protection association The Lowveld and Escarpment Fire Protection Association (LEFPA) based in Nelspruit is one of the oldest FPAs in South Africa and we provide some insight into its operations, challenges and systems. Western Cape summer fire season The Western Cape summer fire season, which officially started on 1 December 2015, was launched on 29 November 2015 at the Stellenbosch Airfield near Cape Town, with a number of dignitaries and representatives being treated to the customary air show and a drill by Working on Fire. Pierre Gallagher of the Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association (CPFPA) provides an overview of the Western Cape’s preparedness for the upcoming season. We thank all our contributors, readers and advertisers for their support. Fire and Rescue International is your magazine. Read it, use it and share it! Lee Raath-Brownie Publisher

Subscriptions 12 editions per annum South Africa R325 per annum incl VAT Non-subscribers: R35 incl VAT per issue

Proudly serving those who serve Volume 3 | No 10

Images Strap

This month’s FRI images winner! Congratulations to Rob Taylor for his photograph ‘MI8 flight deck’ taken with a Canon 400D with Canon EF-S 10-22mm @ 10mm lens, a shutter speed of 1/160 of a second, ISO 400 and an aperture 10 F-stop. The camera flash was used to light the instrument panel and minor tweaks were done in Lightroom to the colour balance and contrast of the original RAW file.

Photo description: This photo was taken during a training flight with Captain Steve Whiting at Shafton, KwaZulu-Natal.

Rob Taylor wins this month’s prize money of R 2 000!

Well done!

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.

Volume 3 | No 10

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

>>ENTER NOW! FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 5

Informal settlement fires

Informal settlement fires: reducing the risk of fires through partnerships and community education By MM Khangale, senior manager and GOL Phetlhu, manager, Directorate: Fire Services Coordination, National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC)

The number of informal settlement fires experienced across the country has remained high

n South Africa, the risk of fires in the country is influenced by a variety of socio-economic factors notably the rising levels of urbanisation, which often results in informal settlements comprised of shacks built by highly combustible materials (frequently wood and plastic) and in close proximity to each other. The number of informal settlement fires experienced across the country has remained high and these fires have resulted in significant loss of lives, injuries and damage to properties. The fire problem is further compounded by the living conditions in informal settlements characterised by narrow streets that are inaccessible to fire servicesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; vehicles, absence of fire fighting water supply as well as the lack of street names, which complicates endeavours to reach people in need timeously. The lack of electricity in most informal settlements means that communities have to utilise other sources of energy such as dangerous paraffin stoves for cooking, heating and candles for lighting. Statistics from the Household Energy Safety Association of South Africa (HESASA) indicates that about 2,1 million households in South Africa are non-electrified and use other domestic energy sources. With regard to paraffin related fires, HESASA points out that 6 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

more than 200 000 people per year are injured or lose their property due to paraffin induced fires. Experience and research have demonstrated that most paraffin fires are caused by paraffin stoves that do not comply with South African standards and specifications as required. Partnership between the NDMC, DTI, NRCS and NCC Experience and research have demonstrated that most fires are caused by unsafe and illegal paraffin stoves. In view of this, the NDMC has entered into partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Regulator of Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) and the National Consumer Commission (NCC) to reduce the risk of fires caused by these illegal paraffin stoves. Through this partnership, a joint campaign strategy has been developed and will, among others, contain an enforcement element where inspectors from both the NCC and the NRCS will remove noncompliant stoves from the shop floors in various areas across the country. It will also ensure that those who continue to stock such appliances are investigated and prosecuted. Safe and compliant paraffin stoves will be handed to identified communities

with the aim of eliminating the unapproved ones. Furthermore, the campaign will give effect to the realisation of the mandates and roles of both the NCC and the NRCS. The NCC, empowered by Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, is tasked with ensuring consumer protection in the country, whiles the NRCS, as mandated by the NRCS Act 8 of 2008, oversees the regulation and approval of consumer products to ensure that they meet certain compulsory standards and specifications. The NDMC together with DTI, NRCS, NCC and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality launched the Safer Stoves Campaign on 8 December 2015 at Vusumuzi Informal Settlement in Tembisa. The launch was attended by over 3 000 members of the community and was presided over by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies; Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel; Vivian Chauke, Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) responsible for Disaster and Emergency Services in Ekurhuleni; Ken Terry, Head of the NDMC; Asogan Moodley, CEO of the NRCS; Ebrahim Mohamed, Commissioner of the NCC, to name but a few. Shop owners who are selling illegal stoves were identified and arrested on the day of the launch to demonstrate Volume 3 | No 10

Informal settlement fires evolved to a point where the risk of fire in formal structures is significantly reduced except mainly for those fires caused by non-compliance with applicable fire safety measures. This is the case since fire safety of a building will essentially depend on what is done to prevent a fire from starting in the building as well as what is done through design, construction and management to minimise the spread of fire if and when it happens.

The Safer Stoves Campaign was launched on 8 December 2015 in Tembisa governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seriousness in dealing with the suppliers of non-compliant and uncertified paraffin stoves. Approximately 2 000 unsafe and illegal paraffin stoves were removed from the Vusumuzi informal settlement as part of this campaign and replaced with 2 500 safe and legally compliant paraffin stoves. All unsafe stoves that were collected were demolished/ destructed at the site of the launch. The NDMC and its partners intend to roll out the campaign to identified areas across the country. The

organising team pulled together a total of 650 volunteers (600 community emergency response team (CERT) members from the City of Ekurhuleni) and 50 from the Tshwarisanang Environmental Pro-Re-Active Safety Mentors (TEPRASM) to identify unsafe stoves and provide education and awareness to communities in the build up to the event. Reducing informal fire risk through codes and other applicable systems Over the years in South Africa, Building Regulations and Standards have

Generally, once a fire start, its spread will largely depend on the design of the building, the materials used in construction, building furnishings and contents, method of ventilation as well as fire suppression systems. Fire safety teams in formal structures usually reflect on all of these aspects during decision making processes. While formal structures have benefited from application of Building Regulations and Standards, informal structures found mostly in rural areas and in informal settlements remain somewhat vulnerable as these codes are not enforced in their areas. This reality requires concerted and sustained efforts by all role players led by the NDMC to improve application and compliance with applicable codes to reduce fire risks in the long term.

Informal settlements are characterised by narrow streets restricting access to fire fighting vehicles

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Informal settlement fires

Overstrand implements pilot shack fire project

Mayor Nicolette Botha-Guthrie, CFO Lester Smith, Hennie Zeelie, Director Neville Michaels and Angela Heslop

verstrand recently launched a ‘Shack Fire Project’ to mitigate the occurrence and spread of fires in its informal settlements. The aim of the project is to empower people who live in the informal settlements to cope should a fire break out in their area. Annelize Zeelie, project coordinator together with Hennie Zeelie approached the Overstrand Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management Service to initiate the Overstrand Shack Fire Project in Zwelihle, Hermanus. Zwelihle would be the pilot project. The project consists of strategically located boxes containing fire extinguishers. Designated residents will receive an electronic ‘key’ allowing them to activate the box, setting off a siren in their specific ward and opening the box containing a fire extinguisher. A red light, mounted high on a pole, will flash and an SMS will simultaneously be sent to the fire brigade advising them location of the fire. The box is connected to a cell phone, which will receive an SMS, notifying the fire brigade to respond. The siren will notify all residents in the vicinity of the fire. While the fire brigade are deployed to the scene, residents will be able to attempt to minimise the spread of fire with the fire extinguisher.

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The fire response units received first aid training provided by Angela Heslop. Apart from the two hour course, each unit received first aid kits. The Hermanus Fire Station provided practical fire response training. Hennie Zeelie, designer and developer of the fire boxes, donated these units in what is a pilot initiative and mayoral project. Overstrand Mayor, Nicolette BothaGuthrie, urged residents to take ownership of the project. “Take this training and make it your own and assist the fire department in managing fires in your area. Let us stand together and join hands in the fight against fires and the devastating effect it can have on our lives,” said

the mayor. “Overstrand Municipality hopes that by endorsing this project we will draw the attention of the private and public sectors to become key stakeholders, sponsors and partners in this worthy undertaking. Collaboration of this nature will do much to ensure community members receive the training and development that will ultimately result in increased job creation and revenue in the informal settlements,” Mayor Botha-Guthrie added. “The Shack Fire Project is a great initiative as the fire brigade will be instantly informed of a fire occurring in the area. There will be no delay in response for as soon as the remote is activated, the SMS notification will be received, thus removing the delay of a phone call and minimising the response time,” said Overstrand’s chief fire officer (CFO), Lester Smith. “With the minimised response time, the damages incurred can be minimal as well. Extinguishing attempts by the surrounding residents can assist the fire brigade. Because of the high density of shacks within Zwelihle or any informal settlement, the number of shacks that could be ignited by one shack, which is well alight, can result in the rapid spread of fire with the loss of many shacks,” added CFO Smith.

Overstrand’s Zwelihle settlement would be the pilot project Volume 3 | No 10

Informal settlementStrap fires

Safer paraffin stoves launched in Ekurhuleni, South Africa

he Safer Stoves Campaign launched at Vusimuzi, Tembisa on 8 December 2015 in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality involved the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS), National Consumer Commission (NCC) and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.The partnership followed a winter campaign that was kick started in June 2015 by the NRCS and NCC, aimed at educating consumers about the importance of using approved appliances such as paraffin stoves and heaters to prevent shack fires that often result in loss of lives and property. These stoves are intended to reduce the number of fire-related accidents that have affected informal settlements across Gauteng. Additionally, manufacturers of paraffin stoves and heaters will be bound by standards set by the DTI to further mitigate the

“The shack fire project is also a great way for community members to become more fire wise. By involving community members, you promote a safer environment. Those members receiving training will spread the word and ensure other community members promote a safer environment too,” confirmed Smith. “It is my opinion that the Shack Fire Project will prove to be a success, assisting all fire brigades within South Africa to promote a safer environment and educating communities on fire safety. This project can also be seen as a tool which the Overstrand Municipality utilises to mitigate the number of shack fires within the area. Another initiative from Overstrand Municipality was also to provide Volume 3 | No 10

Minister Dr Rob Davies and the MMC for community safety Cllr Vivian Chauke exchange compliant stoves for noncompliant stoves in Vusimuzi informal settlement issue of informal settlement fires. The Metro’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members underwent extensive training on how to utilise the new safer paraffin stoves. This was followed by door-to-door visits where CERT members imparted the knowledge to community members in their respective informal settlements. Trade and Industry Minister, Rob

Davies, said 600 people in the community were trained to promote the importance of safe stoves and the importance of getting rid of unsafe stoves. CERT members also received certificates from Davies for completing their training. Ken Terry, head of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) said,

electricity to residents, which brought down the paraffin usage; one of the bigger contributors to shack fires. Better infrastructure (roads) in the informal settlements and the organising of shacks play a major role as well,” said Smith. The fire chiefs in attendance at the launch expressed a keen interest in implementing a similar programme in their own regions. In so doing, more communities will be better equipped to deal with fire outbreaks and alleviate the load on the overly-stretched fire fighting personnel around the country. “You need the buy in from the community, though. The system needs to fit into the community’s hierarchy and social system.” concluded Smith.

The fire box FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 11

Informal settlement fires “The lack of electricity in most informal settlements means that communities have to utilise other sources of energy such as paraffin stoves for cooking, heating and candles for lighting. The Household Energy Safety Association of South Africa (HESASA) pointed out that more than 200 000 people per year are injured or lose their property due to paraffin induced fires. Experience and research have demonstrated that most informal settlement fires are caused by paraffin stoves that do not comply with South African Standards and Specifications as required.” A total of 3 000 households in the area were found to be using stoves that were not safe. Residents were given coupons and instructed to bring noncompliant stoves to the handover in order to receive a new, safer stove. The Safer Stoves Campaign further generates job opportunities as the new stoves are manufactured and the old stoves are recycled within the City of Ekurhuleni. Minister Davies said they discovered that nine out of 10 houses make use of the illegal stoves because they are sold cheaper than the safe, compliant ones that are approved by the National Regulator for

Compulsory Specifications (NRCS). “Every year 200 000 people are affected by fires caused by unsafe paraffin stoves. This causes hardship on communities, government and municipalities. We are saying that through this campaign, this has got to stop. We went through the docks in Durban and we discovered these stoves were shipped in via cargo. We confiscated and destroyed them but the perpetrators involved in this trade have resorted to importing these stoves in bits and pieces and setting up illegal factories to assemble and distribute them locally,” said Davies. Davies explained that the import and sale of deadly noncompliant paraffin stoves is prohibited in the country. “The reason we are against the use of the illegal stoves is that in the event that it is tipped over, the flame continues burning, the paraffin spills out and the stove causes fire, devastating communities in the process. The compliant stove, when tipped over, the flame goes out and the paraffin does not spill therefore averting a catastrophe,” said Davies. “We also had a South African Police Service and NRCS driven

operation that found four informal and two formal shops selling illegal stoves. The operation confiscated 44 illegal stoves and six arrests were made. Those people are going to be prosecuted in court. Today our campaign has reached a new level,” concluded Davies. Demonstrations of shack fires were presented to the residents of Vusimuzi in order to further educate the residents on shack fires, followed by Davies running a bulldozer over noncompliant paraffin stoves. Residents were also presented with Edutainment drama acts that conveyed the dangers of the noncompliant stoves as well as the need for the new, safer stoves. In addition, a burn victim delivered an address to the people of Vusimuzi on the safe usage of paraffin stoves. Furthermore, Terry said, “I wish to take this opportunity to commend the City of Ekurhuleni for the establishment of the Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and the Public Information, Education and Relations (PIER) programmes which have been instrumental in reducing fire and other disaster risks within the city’s area of jurisdiction.”

Minister Dr Rob Davies destroys the noncompliant stoves with a bulldozer

CERT team demonstrates extinguishing a fire with a bucket system

City of Ekurhuleni Fire and Emergency Services

City of Ekurhuleni Incident Command

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Volume Volume33| No | No10 9

Informal settlement fires

New project introduces fire retardant paint to shacks “This project will also see community members being employed as painters, with approximately 83 jobs created in these four areas. The city will be spending just over R1 million to paint the homes in Phumlani Village and Pook se Bos, while the contracting company, Transception, through their corporate social investment, will be sponsoring the paint for Flamingo Crescent and Wag ’n Bietjie in Nomzamo,” said Stemmett.

An aerial photograph taken of Wag ‘n Bietjie informal settlement in Nomzamo

n order to reduce the spread of fires in informal settlements, an innovative project using fire retardant paint has been launched in the Western Cape, South Africa. The project, Khusela Ikhaya, was established in association with a reputable paint manufacturer to mitigate loss of life and property due to shack fires. The Khusela Ikhaya project was established by local social entrepreneurs, Justin Zietsman and Ashley Stemmett, who formed Transception, which is aimed at spearheading social solutions into society. They founded the Khusela Ikhaya project with the aim of preventing rapid spreading shack fires through the use of a specifically formulated intumescent (fire retardant) paint applied to informal dwellings. The paint when exposed to extreme heat forms an expanding heat shield capable of sufficiently slowing down the rapid transmission of fire from one dwelling to the next, allowing neighbouring occupants more time to escape harm’s way. It also allows more time for fire services and fire fighters to extinguish blazes before large numbers of dwellings are consumed by fire. The paint base carries South 14 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

African Bureau of Standards (SABS) certification. It is water based and eco-friendly and receiving Global Green Tag certification, makes it conducive to the international ‘green’ marketplace. The burn rate has been tested at approximately 40 to 60 minutes and can be painted over several materials such as plastic, wood, brick, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), plaster and existing enamel as well as galvanised steel, provided that the steel has been painted with primer.

Although the paint plays largely a functional role, it will also provide potential for the beautification of these environments. Quite uniquely, the project-vision also extends to the rooftops, which forms a collective canvas for creative expression to produce ‘aerial land art’, which is branded, conceptual or even cultural imagery that will be visible from the air. “Our vision is not only to prevent rapid spreading shack fires but to shift the negative perceptions of townships through the use of colour, imagery and interaction and in so doing, positively impact perceptions, tourism and even national pride,” said Stemmett.

“This intervention has been widely endorsed and was piloted in the ‘Wag ‘n Bietjie’ settlement in Nomzamo Township just outside Cape Town, South Africa, where just a few years ago nearly 300 shacks burnt to the ground and devastated countless families,” said Stemmett. At the start of the Cape Town fire season on 1 December 2015, the Misa Umlilo Stop the Fire campaign was launched, in which painting structures in four informal settlements with fire retardant paint took place. Cape Town’s executive mayor, Patricia de Lille attended the event. The City of Cape Town rolled out the campaign as from 1 December 2015 in Phumlani Village in Lotus River where 550 structures were painted.

Mayor Patricia de Lille paints with residents in Phumlani Village as part of the Miso Umlilo ‘Stop the Fire’ campaign Volume 3 | No 10

Informal settlement fires

Stoermers rugby team paint in Flamingo Crescent informal settlement

Founders of Khusela Ikhaya Project, Justin Zietsman and Ashley Stemmett

The Khusela Ikhaya team painting an informal dwelling in Wag ‘n Bietjie informal settlement

Miso Umlilo ‘Stop the Fire’ campaign uses colourful fireretardant paint to brighten up Phumlani Village

Resident of Wag ‘n Bietjie informal settlement painting her home with Khusela fire retardant paint

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FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 15

Informal settlement fires An installed Lumkani fire detection device

Lumkani fire detection technology reduces fire risks

ith the number of devastating informal settlement fires plaguing South Africa, Lumkani has designed a heat detection network to mitigate issues relating to informal settlement fires by means of producing a networked warning system suffice of creating a community response to these fires. The Lumkani heat detection network is a low cost, proactive fire warning system, designed for informal settlement environments. It is a networked heat detection system that effectively decreases shack fires and its spread by means of a community-based

The Lumkani team: Samuel Ginsberg, Francois Petousis, Paul Mesarcik, Emily Vining, Max Basler and David Gluckman 16 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

system and has been sold and installed in 4 800 informal settlement households. The Lumkani initiative plans to build a bridge between the providers of emergency services and affected areas. To sense fire, the Lumkani detector measures the rate at which temperature increases, rather than smoke levels within a shack. The reason for this is that many cooking, lighting and heating methods used by people living in informal settlements produce smoke, which would generate false alarms with standard devices and render it useless. Thus, Lumkani also reduces false alarms as it is coupled with smart

The Lumkani fire detection device

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Strap units, which constantly senses the system and relays information remotely. Each device is networked to surrounding devices within a 40-metre radius. In the event of a fire, the detecting device will send a signal using radio frequency transmission to surrounding devices within this range. A solid beep means that the device has detected a fire in your own home whereas a broken beep indicates that the fire is in the nearby surrounding. A wave of sound creates a community-wide alert and response to danger. This buys time for the community to become proactive in rapidly spreading fire risk situations while bridging the gap between emergency services and the affected area. In the future, Lumkani hopes to use their smart system’s global positioning system (GPS) coordinates to send the fire’s location to the nearest fire department. The Lumkani project was a direct result of the devastating shack fires that took place on 1 January 2013 in Khayelitsha that displaced thousands of people. David Gluckman, director of Lumkani, explains, “It was a catalyst for research and development that brought us to our first product launch, on 21 November 2014. This early warning detection system has its roots in an engineering honours thesis of Francois Petousis of the University of Cape Town. This tragic event brought together a multidisciplinary team that would bring theory into reality to help mitigate the loss of life and property associated with the rampant spread of shack fires.” Lumkani has proved to be an effective fire safety tool Gluckman added, “An important day was 9 December 2014, where we received text message alerts that an installed system was triggering as it sensed fire. We had detected a dangerous fire and the community had rallied together after responding to the technology alert. The community-wide response enabled people to get buckets of water and put out the fire before it spread to a second home. On this day, the technology had first proved itself as effective in light of the human challenge. To date, our system has been triggered numerous times, of which eight of those were noteworthy situations that prevented extensive fire damage.” The device and service will be sold to government, international donor agencies, non-government organisations and shack-dwellers in high-density informal settlements in South Africa and across the globe. Gluckman said, “We see a huge opportunity for these large stakeholders to subsidise the cost of the device to ensure that there is rapid take-up and therefore the social impact can scale very quickly protecting communities in our country and worldwide.” “Lumkani’s vision is to mitigate the loss of life and property caused by dangerous fires occurring in informal settlements all over the world. We wish to increase the safety and security of millions if not hundreds of millions of people across the globe that live at risk of informal settlement fires,” added Gluckman. Volume 3 | No 10

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 17

News

City of Ekurhuleni opens new fire station in Duduza in Thokoza and Katlehong are still rendered from temporary facilities, “The contractor had just been appointed to commence the construction of the new fire station for Thokoza while the consulting team had also just been appointed to commence planning and designing the fire station for Katlehong,” said Gungubele.

Duduza Fire Station

outh Africa’s City of Ekurhuleni officially inaugurated the Duduza Fire Station led by Mayor Mondli Gungubele on 5 November 2015. The 1 300 m2 fire station cost an estimate of R41 million. The fire station is manned by nine fire fighters on a twenty-four-seven basis. The facility has five machine bays and is home to a major pumper, foam tanker, medium pumper, skid unit vehicle and three ambulances. The fire station is now ready and equipped, in accordance with international standards, to serve the community. The Duduza Fire Station will serve a population of around 87 359 people from wards 98 and 87, as well as parts of wards 88 and 84. Additionally, the new fire station will serve as standby support for Tsakane and Nigel. The project also created jobs for the locals specifically within the construction industry. Councillor (Cllr) Mondli Gungubele highlighted the need for the fire station by reminding residents of the tornado that devastated the community of Masetshaba on 30 September 2012 through to 1 October 2012. He extended his gratitude to the emergency rescue teams, local and provincial disaster management teams and all other stakeholders that responded 18 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

and joined forces in resolving the challenges the community faced at the time. “Emergency services are one of the first responders to all incidents where life and property are involved. Having fire stations closer to all communities will improve response times and ultimately saving lives and property,” said Cllr Gungubele. Reference was made to the new fire station in Kwa Thema, which is currently at its final stages of construction. It is anticipated that this fire station will be officially opened in March 2016. Additionally, emergency services

Mayoral committee member (MMC) community safety, Cllr Vivian Chauke, chairperson of community safety oversight committee, Cllr Morris Chauke, ward Cllr Thabo Motaung who leads the ward where the fire station is built, head of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services, Moshema Mosia and divisional head, Ofentse Masibi, were amongst the dignitaries present at the inauguration. The issue of violence against emergency services was highlighted and Gungubele made a plea to the community of Duduza, “Very disturbing incidents of attacking, robbing and high-jacking emergency vehicles and our emergency personnel had been reported at various places in the city. These are men and women who sacrifice their live to save others. Such behaviour and conduct is condemned to the strongest terms. I am appealing to all communities to work together with these men and women so that our lives and property are protected.”

Duduza Fire Station Volume 3 | No 10

News

Volunteer Wildfire Services holds open day

City of Cape Town Fire and Emergency Services had a static display

he Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) hosted its annual VWS Open Day at Chrysalis Academy in Tokai, Western Cape, South Africa. With approximately 5 000 visitors attending, this event was the largest and most well received open day in the history of the VWS, a non-profit company made up entirely of unpaid volunteers. VWS has been in operation since 1999 and has approximately 200 members at four stations ie Newlands, South Peninsula, Jonkershoek and the newly developing Grabouw Station.

365 days of the year, their fire fighters are hard at work training and preparing for all fire-related disasters. Working closely with other emergency service organisations in wild-land fire management such as Table Mountain National Park, CapeNature, City of Cape Town Fire and Emergency Services, Disaster Management, Winelands Fire Brigade, Stellenbosch

Fire Brigade and Working on Fire has meant that the VWS has, to date, achieved over 39 000 active fire fighting hours between its members and stations. The VWS Open Day 2015 committee would like to extend a very heartfelt thanks to all the VWS members and volunteers who took part and all the visitors that attended.

The highlight of the day was the simulated fire fighting demonstration that included fire engines and over 50 fire fighters as well as the induction of the new VWS recruits. Visitors were treated to fire engine rides, abseiling, games and challenges and excellent food, drinks and merchandise was on sale. Other highlights included a snake show as well as displays by City of Cape Town Fire and Emergency Services. The VWS depend entirely on funding from generous contributions by the public and corporates. On standby Volume 3 | No 10

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South Africa Incident Command System Working Group

South African ICS Working Team meeting at Melkbosstrand

he South African Incident Command System (ICS) Working Team Meeting met on 11 November 2015 at the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) base in Melkbosstrand on the West Coast.

South African ICS Working Team meeting at Melkbosstrand

Chairman of the working group, Colin Deiner, presided over the meeting and welcomed the respective representatives, adding that it was the first meeting in establishing an all hazard approach. A number of agencies were represented including the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), The South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI)

Induction of the new VWS recruits

City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue demonstration

Visitors were treated to fire engine rides

The snake show was one of the highlights

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South Africa Incident Command System Working Group and the Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa (DMISA), amongst others. Deiner provided feedback on the SA ICS reporting structure, which was presented to the NDMC Advisory Forum quarterly meeting on 21 May 2015. The advisory forum consists of sub working group committees for special projects and tasks. Recommendations were made that the SA ICS working group committee be accepted as a sub working group of the NDMC Advisory Forum. Deiner added that, “It is important that the SA ICS Working Group establish a terms of reference and be fully represented, with representation from all provinces. It was shared that the Western Cape is well represented, however the working group needs to develop to include other provinces. It will be require that the SA ICS sub working group report back at the NDMC Advisory forum. Etienne du Toit presented the objectives of the SA ICS subworking group, highlighting some of the challenges. Du Toit said that the primary resistance is due to the responding agencies’ fear that the application of IC methodology will allow one agency to exercise command over another, impinging its authority. He added that institutionalisation of ICS for the management of all hazard incidents is imperative and must start at provincial level. This will ensure that ICS is implemented. Also, disaster management centres must be aligned to the ICS and ICS regulations must be promulgated. Du Toit highlighted the importance of standardisation of ICS documentation, adding that the Western Cape had done extensive work aligning international documentation to local content. However, this still needed to be expanded to the remaining provinces and organisations in the country. Du Toit also highlighted the importance of ICS training and said that foundation training need to be expanded, position specific all risk training as well as specialised training must be included and a team should be established to develop the system. Volume 3 | No 10

Although the meeting was well-attended, some agencies were still not present NDMC Head of the NDMC, Ken Terry, said that a unified, all hazard command structure is important for all government departments and organisations to work together and for the effective management of an incident. Terry added, “The use of one system means that everybody is on the same page; it’s all about saving lives, not egos.” He also mentioned that the resources across the country differ with some pockets of excellence and that ICS can be the vehicle to mobilise and deploy resources to incidents. Terry conveyed his full support and said the committee will have to prepare for some tight deadlines for the implementation of the system throughout the country. He cautioned that ICS should not deviate from the SANDF as SA relies on them for resistance and resources. The NDMC approved the appointment of the SA ICS Task Team Committee. A first draft of the terms of reference (work plan) will be presented at the next NDMC advisory forum. Mutual Aid Agreement between USA and South Africa Fred Favard provided feedback on the Mutual Aid Agreement between USA and South Africa, an extensive process over the past 10 years to finalise the agreement

with the various government departments involved, which will enable the two countries to engage response teams when the need arises. Favard added that South Africa sent a team to Canada during February 2015 to shadow the response to wildfires, which had a positive effect on the process. Once the agreement has been finalised it will be forwarded to the NDMC for comment. Jurgens Dyssel added that a Memorandum of Agreement has been drafted with Department of International Relations Cooperation (DIRCO), which aims to put a mechanism in place for disaster response. A working group will be put in place with the aim of determining resources and needs and to respond through DIRCO. It is envisaged that the process be completed by 31 March 2016. Training Stephen Devine provided background on the training questionnaire and outcome of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) forum regarding required ICS courses, saying that the objective of the questionnaire was to obtain information from organisations regarding standardising ICS training, in particular foundational and all hazard risk training. Aspects included testing the market in terms of the demand for these courses FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 21

Strap Africa Incident Command System Working Group South and assessing the available capacity for the facilitation of these courses with accredited service providers. Feedback is still awaited from district municipalities and other organisations and will be channelled through the ICS training working group. Website An interactive SA ICS website will be launched, sponsored, produced and managed by Fire and Rescue International. Lee Raath-Brownie provided an overview of its planned contents and layout and confirmed that the domain name, www.saics.org, has been registered. All documents prepared up to date will be uploaded to Fire and Rescue International’s website until the new site is finalised. Tim Murphy added that he will supply the South African Wildfire and Prescribed Fire Qualifications Guidelines documents. Raath-Brownie suggested a digital newsletter, keeping all informed between meetings. NIMS Phase II, all hazard training Fred Favard detailed the SA Field Manager’s Course Guide and said that the Planning Section Chief and Logistic Section Chief courses (I300) will be held at the Eastern Cape Umbrella Fire Protection Association (ECUFPA) and the Safety Officer and Training the Trainer courses at the North West University. He added that ICS training has evolved from fire fighting to an all hazard approached. South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) accreditation still has to be addressed. The NDMC has been identified for the roll out of the ICS in South Africa as the USA expressed the need to liaise with a government entity and as such, the NDMC will have to give guidance on ICS training and the process that will be followed for the provision of these courses. Etienne du Toit said that ICS is a component of the NIMS, adding that the other components are the Multi-Agency Coordinating System (MAC) and Joint Information Sharing. It is therefore an inclusive system with the aim to enhance multi agency coordination. ICS is an on scene management system and involves managing by objectives. 22 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

SA ICS interim committee Colin Deiner advised that an interim committee needed to be established in order to manage the day-to-day whilst the SA ICS Working Group is being established. Nominations were received which included Colin Deiner, Reinard Geldenhuys, Michelle and representatives each from the NDMC, (SAPS) and the Department of Health. The committee resolved the following members for the “interim committee”: • Chairperson of the SA ICS Working group, Colin Deiner • Deputy chair of the SA ICS Working group, Reinard Geldenhuys • Michelle Kleinhans • A representative of the NDMC • A representative of the South Africa Police Service SAPS • A representative of the Department of Health The secretariat function will be done by Sonja Chinnian and Lavenia Nicholson of the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre (WCDMC) in the interim.

African countries. The funding from USAID is allocated for courses. A number of shadowing opportunities will be made available.

ICS Tool Kit Etienne du Toit presented the ICS Tool Kit, saying that they didn’t want to re engineer a toolkit. It made sense to use the existing fire fighting toolkit, adapting it for all hazards. The forms are user friendly and the toolkit is colour coded. Patrick Ryan provided a visual walk through the finalised toolkit. The final version is available which included editable pdf forms, which will be uploaded to the SA ICS website. It is available at no cost with the intention to enhance the ICS. City of Cape Town will be adopting it as a standard operating procedure (SOP).

Van der Berg also reported on the National Qualification Framework, standards and information, saying that advice was sought from LGSETA on how ICS can be included in the formal training of various disciplines for example fire fighters, traffic, disaster management, etc. The LGSETA was not able to provide guidance to date and it was requested that the representative from national dealing with training, form part of the ICS training sub committee.

Phase II NIMS All hazard Tim Murphy provided background to the USA-South Africa partnership, which was initiated during 2004 primarily for wildfires. Phase I was rolled out in 2010 with the aim to establish ICS in South Africa. The Department of Environment Affairs approached the US for further funding, with phase II including all hazards, being rolled out in 2014. The US is currently negotiating with the NDMC to institutionalise ICS in South Africa. The US also wants to promote ICS in neighbouring

Eskom presentation Josè Correira of Eskom provided an overview of the use of ICS in Eskom, saying that Eskom has been working with the NDMC for approximately seven years and that ICS is implemented in extreme disasters such as black outs, nuclear meltdown and major power outages. Training sub-committee working group Headed up by Etienne van Bergen, the training sub-committee working group drafted the Terms of Reference and circulated it for comment. Advice was sourced from the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA) to determine how ICS can be included into the formal SAQA structure. LGSETA indicated that unit standards are no longer applicable, however, feedback is still awaited.

Van Bergen also reported on the criteria for recognition for prior learning, City of Cape Town and the South African Incident Organisation: All hazards and Wildland Fire, saying that both documents were sent for comment on 28 March 2015 but that no feedback was received. The documents were accepted and will be uploaded to the website. The accreditation of instructors/training providers is still pending. It is imperative for industry to be part of the SA ICS Work Group in order to stay abreast of its implementation and implication in the service. Dates for the 2016 meeting will be released shortly. Volume 3 | No 10

SAESI Conference and Expo 2015

SAESI Conference and Expo 2015, South Africa Start of the conference

he South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI) Conference and Expo took place at Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec, from 1 to 6 November 2015. The core focus of the conference surrounded the theme of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Building Resilient Communitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and SAESI 2015 comprised of the official conference, training events and an expo centre for industryrelated exhibitors as well as an opening fun run, various competitions and a successful world-record attempt. Conference The conference brought together national, provincial and local government officials as well as international, regional and civilian society organisations including

Moshema Mosia, Melvin Ramlall, Dino Padayachee, Ofentse Masibi Volume 3 | No 10

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SAESI Conference and Expo 2015

Burn4Burns Cash Donation from Rosenbauer

Overstrand Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management Rosenbauer Service Excellence Award

the private sector, all in an attempt to start the process of building resilience within communities and in doing so it consequently aids in disaster prevention and management within these respective communities. In particular, the issue of informal settlement fires directed the theme of the conference.

Keynote addresses Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of Gift of the Givers delivered a keynote address, in which Sooliman focused on the multiple facets of disaster response wherein logistics, negotiation, access and distribution are key aspects for effective disaster management.

The inauguration of the new president of SAESI took place at the opening of the conference as Ofentse Masibi handed over presidency to Dino Padayachee. An award ceremony followed, in which individuals were commended for their long service and excellence in sports and education. Dr Elias Sithole, head of Gauteng’s provincial disaster management centre was the conference chair of the 30th biennial SAESI Conference and Expo.

Stuart Ellis, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council focused on the disaster management strategies employed by Australia’s disaster management policies and the relevance thereof to promote effective incident management procedures in South Africa. Head of the National Disaster Management Centre Ken Terry addressed conference attendees on behalf of

30 years’ service medals

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Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Pravin Gordhan. Terry discussed critical matters concerning fire services, communities most effective by fires and the principles of Back to Basics (BtB) to combat the above issues. He encouraged chief fire officers (CFOs) for educational and physical compliance of fire fighters and emphasised the importance of prioritising all related aspects with respects to building resilient communities. He concluded by saying that Minister Pravin Gordhan was in the process of submitting his own proposal with regards to the fire and rescue industry. In addition, Bill Cox, past president of the International Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE) and Chief Larry Few who represented the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs of the United States were among the international speakers in attendance. Keynote topics Following the keynote addresses were the key topic speeches. Risk management, education, security and resilience were the key topics discussed and were presented as the three basic pillars in building resilient communities. Schalk Willem Lubbe, fire engineering specialist was the topic speaker on risk management, which focused on the empowerment of vulnerable communities by identifying the hazards that affect them in their communities and understanding how to assist these communities accordingly. In principle, Lubbe highlighted the importance of a national plan supported by partnerships, which is analysed and structured towards a collective goal, namely effective risk management. The topic speaker for security and resilience, Moshema Mosia, head of disaster and emergency management services at Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) focused on the importance of national and international standards and its role in facilitating security and resilience within communities. Paul Motsepe, Public Information, Education and Relations (PIER) officer addressed the issue of education, in which he highlighted PIER, its operations, principles and values and the significance of educating communities. Senior Manager of Fire Services Coordination, Moses Khangale discussed matters pertaining to dispensation and funding of fire services. Breakaway sessions Thereafter, breakaway sessions followed, which focused on debating each of the above topics in further detail. Conference attendees were encouraged to actively partake in these discussions as to reach a common conclusion for implementation and sustainability of the three basic pillars of building resilient communities. The breakaway sessions were led by Marius Atterbury, technical committee member of SAESI and associate member of the Institution of Fire Engineers and Peter May, senior advisor of fire risk and emergency management of Eskom Holdings. During these discussions it was brought to light that chief fire officers agree with the need for a national plan with Volume 3 | No 10

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SAESI Conference and Expo 2015 regards to managing informal settlement fires. Participants elaborated that the national plan must be taken down lower, to an integrated development plan (IDP) level, in order to be effective. Various chiefs of fire services highlighted that education is vital in mitigating the issue of informal settlement fires. Spacing of structures and fire alarms were also mentioned as contributing factors. The importance of community involvement and need for partnerships were other emphasised topics of discussion.

prize and the charity organisation, Burn4Burns received a generous donation of R10 000 as part of a corporatesocial responsibility project of Rosenbauer. PIER event An event organised by PIER for scholars from the surrounding areas facilitated children to attend demonstrations and talks on safety including a walkthrough the exhibition where exhibitors explained to them how the fire engines, machinery, equipment, and supplies work.

Rosenbauerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corporate-social responsibility project Overstrand Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management received a R70 000 Rosenbauer service excellence

Evening events Evening events of SAESI included a cocktail evening held on 4 November 2015 as well as the Mercedes-Benz gala function, which was held on 5 November 2015.

40 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; service medal

Corporate Life Membership SSP Pumps

Education awards

Life Membership Col Fred Oberholzer

NJL Swanepoel Medal JD Croucamp

Sportsman of the Year Award Manie Gouws

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SAESI Conference and Expo 2015

STAT Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Challenge

uring the STAT EMS Challenge, live casualties and mannequins were used and marks were

awarded on casualty handling. Teams were assessed on scene safety, initial patient contact, assessment of injuries and

condition, treatment of casualty and patient handover. There was an intermediate life support and advanced life support challenge.

EMS ILS Challenge 1st Metro EMS Western Cape

EMS ILS Challenge 2nd Cape Town Turmour-naters

EMS ALS Challenge 1st CapeTown Turmournaters#1

EMS ALS Challenge 2nd Amabhubesi Ekurhuleni

Marks were awarded on casualty handling Volume 3 | No 10

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SAESI Conference and Expo 2015

South Africa Emergency Care (SAEC) Scott Safety Fire Fighter Rescue Challenge

he individual fire fighter challenge consisted of a stair climb of about four storeys up a makeshift obstacle, while carrying a hose. Secondly, fire fighters were to hoist a 21kg donut pack (rolled hose) up the tower and then run down, not missing one step then proceed to using a hammer to a Kaizer force machine with a 75kg slide. Fire fighters had to make their way through a series of cones, after which they had to grab and run with a fully-charged, 32mm hose through a gate to spray down a target. The challenge was concluded by dragging an 80kg dummy dubbed Rescue Randy, over 30m to the finish line. The team events included the same challenges, however, the challenges were performed in relay with other team members.

Fire Fighter Challenge Male Individual - Arnold van Lill - 3rd, Emile Conrad 1st, Ryan Abrahams - 2nd

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Fire Fighter Challenge Senior Men Freddie Morukhu - 3rd, Rudi van der Berg - 1st, Thabami Mgumbeza - 2nd

Fire Fighter Rescue Team Challenge 1st Midvaal 1

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SAESI Conference and Expo 2015

Results SA Emergency Care Scott Safety Fire Fighter Rescue Challenge Individual Times

Individual (seniors) Times

Name

Time

Emile Conrad