Fire and Rescue International Vol 3 No 7 by Fire and Rescue International

Strap

Integrated fire, rescue, EMS and incident command technology

Volume 3 No 7

Contents 2

Comment

Competition 4 FRI Images Cover profile 4 South Africa launches stamps honouring fire fighters 6

International Fire Fighters Day 2015 International Fire Fighters Day 2015

9 Limpopo Province celebrated International Fire Fighters Day in Polokwane - by Maritza Swanepoel News 10 Memorial service held for two JHB fire fighters 11

South African ICS Work Group meets in Cape Town

New industrial pumper for Port of Walvis Bay

15 SAIF/William C Teie Post Graduate Forest and Veld Fire Management Bursary for 2016 16

Marsh Fire Team Competition 2015

Launch of KwaZulu-Natal fire season

Wildfires 56 So, who is responsible for managing wildfires in the urban interface? - by Zane Erasmus 58

Rescue roundup The silo mentality - by Neville Van Rensburg

AfrikaBurn 2015 61 Managing fire safety for large outdoor events: The AfrikaBurn 2015 experience - by Rob Erasmus Leadership 63 Empowerment - by Wayne Bailey Heritage 64 The history of fire hose

What’s on? 66 Fire, disaster and rescue related events across the globe Poem 68 “My Brother has fallen”

26 Wilderness search and rescue training exercise - by Schalk-Willem van der Merwe 28 Team effort saves curious child’s arm after accident with mincer 29 Cape Winelands District Municipality Fire Services passing-out parade 18

eThekwini Fire’s Grinder Challenge 2015 eThekwini Fire’s Grinder Challenge 2015

Backdrafts, rollovers and flashovers 30 Backdrafts and flashovers – by Colin Deiner 36

Fire service City of Windhoek Emergency Management

42 Dedication and discipline motivates chief Training centre profile 43 eThekwini Metro Fire and Emergency Services’ Training Centre

Incident command 46 Lessons Learned Conference held in Thailand - by Reinard Geldenhuys

Breathing apparatus management 48 Developing procedures for the use of breathing apparatus - by Etienne du Toit Fire safety 52 Western Cape fire prevention campaign: Fire is everyone’s fight - by Rodney Eksteen Disaster search dogs 54 Disaster search dogs in South Africa - by Neels de Klerk Volume 3 | No 7

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Comment Editor Lee Raath-Brownie lee@fireandrescue.co Cell 082 371 0190 Journalist edit@fireandrescue.co Cell 071 641 3884 Advertising advertising@fireandrescue.co Cell 079 107 3967 Design and layout Marc Raath marc@fireandrescue.co

In our 31st edition of Fire and Rescue International (FRI), we provide our readers with news and reviews of events and competitions as well as information on technology and hands-on advice. Enjoy the read! Cover profile To coincide with International Fire Fighters’ Day, the South African Post Office (SAPO) issued a set of eight stamps reflecting some of the activities of fire fighters. A number of emergency services personnel were involved in the steering of this worthwhile project including Lee Raath-Brownie Sandra du Rand of City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services, Johan Pieterse of City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department and Ofentse Masibi, president of the South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI). News section International Fire Fighters Day 2015 dominates the news section in this issue alongside the eThekwini Grinder Challenge and the Marsh Fire Team Competition. The recent deaths and subsequent memorial service of two City of Johannesburg fire fighters are also featured. New vehicle handovers, the launch of the KwaZulu-Natal fire season, a remarkable team effort that saved a child’s arm and an update on the South African ICS Working Group completes the news section.

Digital newsletter Pierre du Plessis

Back drafts and flashovers The phenomenon of flashovers and backdrafts has been the second largest cause of fire deaths after structural collapse. Colin Deiner unpacks the intricacies of these life-threatening incidents and discusses the prevention and survival tactics as well as the training regime for both.

Finance Noddie Knibbs accounts@fireandrescue.co

Fire service City of Windhoek Emergency Management is our featured fire service of the month and we provide insight into its history, risk profile, challenges, operations and training. We profile the chief fire officer, CFO Raymond Kapia and share his background, mentors and management style.

Circulation Vicki Jacob subs@fireandrescue.co Secretary Vicki Jacob pa@fireandrescue.co Administration Mirriam Moroane Contributions

Training centre The eThekwini Metro Fire and Emergency Services’ Training Centre situated South of Durban, is still in its construction stages but it promises to be a multi-discipline, state-of-the-art facility once completed. Incident command Reinard Geldenhuys reviews the Incident Command: Lessons Learned Conference, which was held in Thailand. Breathing apparatus management Etienne du Toit provides an overview of the development of procedures for the use of breathing apparatus. Du Toit explains the risk assessment process, detailing the four levels and the need for a risk management plan. Fire safety Rodney Eksteen details the Western Cape Province’s fire prevention campaign: Fire is everyone’s fight and outlines its educator’s toolkit and timeline for implementation.

USA Wayne Bailey

Disaster search dogs in South Africa An insight into the history as well as the current status of disaster search dogs in South Africa is provided by Neels de Klerk. De Klerk also explains what makes these highly-trained animals irreplaceable.

Africa Colin Deiner Etienne du Toit Reinard Geldenhuys Schalk-Willem van der Merwe Rodney Eksteen Neels de Klerk Zane Erasmus Neville van Rensburg Maritza Swanepoel

Wildfires In the first part of a four part series, Zane Erasmus looks at the management of wildfires on the urban interface.

Publisher Lee Raath-Brownie FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL Tel 011 452 3135/6 Fax 086 671 6920 Box 8299 Greenstone 1616 www.fireandrescue.co 2 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Rescue roundup Neville van Rensburg discusses the silo mentality and the impact it has on a person’s methodology, highlighting the actions and thinking patterns of good leaders. We trust you will find this edition informative and enjoy reading it. 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 7

Images Strap

This month’s FRI images winner! Congratulations to Tertius Engelbrecht for his photograph ‘Team work’. Camera details and settings are unknown.

Well done!

Photo description: Rubbish fire in Meyerton, South Africa, with firemen standing on a heap of rubbish

Tertius Engelbrecht 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.

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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 | 3

Cover profile

South Africa launches stamps honouring fire fighters

“W

hen I grow up, I want to be a fire fighter” … words spoken by many young children who view fire fighters as real-life action heroes ... which they are. To coincide with International Fire Fighters’ Day, celebrated each year on 4 May, the South African Post Office (SAPO) issued a set of eight stamps reflecting some of the activities of fire fighters. The special edition stamps were the brainchild of the South African Post Office who annually holds a competition for stamp designs. The stamps The first image on the stamp sheet depicts a 1920 Dennis fire engine used in South Africa at the time, with a typical fire station from the time in the background, while the second stamp shows a typical modern day fire engine and fire station in South Africa. The rest of the stamps show modern fire fighters in action. The images include a fire fighter in a fire emergency situation, a mountain rescue, firemen carrying a patient on a stretcher, a

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vehicle accident rescue, rescuing a victim from drowning and public information and education. The stamps will be available from July 2015 and each stamp sheet will cost R26-40 ie R3-30 per stamp (standard postage). Only 20 000 stamp sheets were printed and will be available at select post offices nationally. The stamps can be ordered online from 26 June 2015 at www.virtualpostoffice. co.za or you can send an email to sastamps@postoffice.co.za. Creating the artwork The stamp issue was illustrated by Jaco Botha, a graphic design student at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). The TUT graphic design department incorporated the stamp design project into the curriculum. Jaco’s artwork was chosen by the Philatelic Services of the South African Post Office and approved by the Stamp Advisory Committee (SAC). The SAC is appointed by the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services. The design students were required to create images that reflect

different aspects of fire fighting and its sub-sections, as well as the history of fire fighting in South Africa. They were provided with a variety of photographs, which served as guidelines for their artwork. The various images featured on the stamps were chosen to be representative of all the services offered by fire fighters. The Disaster and Emergency Management Services of the City of Ekurhuleni provided guidance in this regard, as well as in finding and providing photographs and ensuring that the fire fighters’ uniforms, vehicles and equipment were depicted in a factually correct way on the stamps. A request was sent out nationally to various fire and emergency services to submit photographs showing relevant images. More than 100 photos were received and in cooperation with the SAPO and the City of Tshwane, the best quality pictures were identified and presented to the president of the South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI) for final selection.

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Cover profile Industry involvement A number of emergency services personnel were involved in the steering of this worthwhile project including Sandra du Rand of City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services, Johan Pieterse of City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department and Ofentse Masibi, president of the South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI). “In collaboration with Tshwane University of Technology, SAESI and the SA Post Office, we had the privilege to form part of a task team of the development of the fire service stamps, commemorating International Fire Fighters Day and emergency services in the South Africa,” said Du Rand. “We requested pictures, old and new, throughout the emergency services in South Africa and various services responded and forwarded their pictures.” Du Rand was the coordinator between SAESI, Emergency Services and the Post Office as well as Johan Pieterse of Tshwane Emergency Services. “This was one of those rare, outstanding opportunities to form part of history,” added Du Rand. “Once in a life time for a just career.” Process In order for a new range of postage stamps to be released, an arduous

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process has to be followed. New themes are decided in parliament by cabinet. Work has to start two years in advance and designs are chosen by the SAPO Stamp Advisory Committee (SAC). The SAC is appointed by the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services. A number of security features have to be included in the design and the new stamp has to be approved by the international regulator, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in Bern, Switzerland. No living person is allowed to be used in the design except a head of state. The late Nelson Mandela was an exception due to his significant reputation and stature. Stamps are works of art and tell a story of the country of issue. It is also quite complicated to reduce intricate artworks in to stamp size portraits. The South African Post Office: Philatelic Services are responsible for the official South African stamp programme. “Generally, we commission artists to illustrate our stamps but we also like to give students the opportunity to design for a client (South African Post Office) in preparation for a possible future as a designer,” said Rachel-Mari Ackermann, graphic designer for SA Post Office Ltd: Philatelic Services.

“We worked with universities like Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), North West University and The Open Window previously. These projects are normally incorporated into the design projects of the institutions and are not official South African Post Office competitions. We have a stamp advisory committee (SAC) appointed by the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, which approves all of our stamp designs. The best design was chosen to illustrate the International Fire Fighter’s Day stamp issue and we normally compensate the particular student by the same standard amount as we would pay any other artist commission.” “We do extensive research on each stamp theme and that is where SAESI and the emergency services played an important role in this project. We worked very closely with Sandra du Rand and Johan Pieterse on the information and reference photographs. Sandra communicated nationally with emergency services, by requesting photographs and information for reference material. It was a huge pleasure to work with them and the end result speaks for itself!” Watch out for the next edition of Fire and Rescue International. The next issue will be posted using these special edition fire fighting stamps.

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 5

International Fire Fighters Day 2015

The Muizenberg burn scar is clearly visible

nternational Fire Fighters’ Day (IFFD) is traditionally observed on 4 May. It was instituted after proposal Mark Bosch emailed out across the world on 4 January 1999 due to the deaths of five fire fighters in tragic circumstances in a wildfire in Australia in December 1998. 4 May used to be a traditional Fire Fighters’ Day in many European countries because it is the day of Saint Florian, patron saint of fire fighters. St Florian, a commander of a fire fighting squad in the Roman Empire and the patron saint of fire fighters, lost his life and those of his colleagues in fire fighting service to the public.

This year, the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service hosted the Western Cape’s celebration of the event. The Cape Winelands Fire Services, West Coast Fire Services, Stellenbosch Fire Services, Breede Valley Fire Services, Overstrand Fire and Rescue, Drakenstein Fire and Rescue, Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) Cape Town International Airport and Working on Fire also participated in the event.

Richard Bosman, Alderman JP Smith and Ian Schnetler

City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service hosted the Western Cape’s celebrations in aid of IFFD

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The main event took place on 2 May 2015 at the Zandvlei recreational area. Commemoration proceedings began with a motorcade of emergency service vehicles from the various Western Cape fire services travelling through the City of Cape Town from Roeland Street Fire Station to Zandvlei. Mark Bosch of City of Cape

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Town Fire and Rescue introduced Reverend Lynda Idas who opened with the customary scripture reading and prayer. After the reading of the St Florian prayer, chief fire officer (CFO) Ian Schnetler explained the history of St Florian and, while indicating at the Muizenberg burn scar, which was clearly visible even from a distance, said that it was a silent reminder of the recent wildfires and the hard work that accompanied extinguishing it. “These guys and ladies put their lives on the line to safe others,” added Schnetler.

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Alderman JP Smith said, “My own heroes are those men and women that make the world a better place. Fire fighters never give up. They never leave a brother or sister behind.” Alderman Smith continued by remembering the four fallen fire fighters from the past season, Nazeem Davies, Hendrik (Bees) Marais, Darrell Rea and Jastun Visagie. “Thank you to our fire fighters and all heroes in uniforms.”

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After the formal remembrance service fire fighters and rescue workers put on a display showcasing their skills. The fire fighter games followed. The winners this year was Overstrand Fire and Rescue who walked away with the accolades.

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International Fire Fighters Day 2015 Strap

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Volume 3 | No 7

International Fire Fighter’s Day 2015

Limpopo Province celebrated International Fire Fighters Day in Polokwane

By Maritza Swanepoel

outh Africa’s Limpopo Province celebrated International Fire Fighters Day in Polokwane on 4 May 2015 at the Polokwane Cricket Club. Working on Fire in conjunction with the Limpopo Umbrella Fire Protection Association (LUFPA), Capricorn District Municipality, Mopani District Municipality, Waterberg District Municipality, Vhembe District Municipality and Sekhukhune District Municipality were the organisers of the event. As International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is a time where the world’s community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that fire fighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible, Limpopo Province paid homage to this special day, commemorating their fallen and those who still serve. The South African Police Service’s string quartet band joined the march.

Fire chiefs from the five district municipalities in Limpopo Province attended the IFFD commemorations

Various fire services and Working on Fire celebrating IFFD

The South African Police Service’s string quartet band joined the march

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LUFPA’s Fanie Venter; Rouan Snyman, fire manager; Simon Malatji, Maritza Swanepoel, secretary; Trevor Phillips, chairman and Nicole Ramokone.

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 9

News

Memorial service held for two JHB fire fighters Photos: Simon McDonnell May 2015. Zwane and Letsosa died from smoke inhalation. The memorial service was disrupted as grieving fire fighters and colleagues showed their dissatisfaction of their work environment when they sang loudly, drowning out the speech of chief fire officer (CFO) Tshepo Makola. Wearing T-shirts with pictures of their late colleagues over their uniforms, the fire fighters turned their backs on CFO Makola as he tried to deliver his address. During the memorial service, Zwane and Letsosa’s colleagues took to the podium where they explained how their colleagues died.

City of Johannesburg fire fighters carry the helmets of Daniel Zwane and Michael Letsosa

Paying respect

CFO Makola reflected on the lives lost in his speech and said, “Our colleagues are true heroes that left this earth while doing something they passionately loved and enjoyed daily. We spend most of our days at the work place saving lives and property in the city without expecting any special treatment from our communities but a simple thank you for a job well done. Even when we fully understand the inherent risk that comes with being a fire fighter, we soldier on daily with the same passion and energy.” Spokesperson for City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, Robert Mulaudzi, said the incident was unfortunate. “I think we need to apologise to the families for the conduct of the fire fighters. We feel that even if they do have differences, this was not the right platform [to address them]. “We missed the opportunity to send our brothers away with dignity,” Mulaudzi said, adding that the concerns of the fire fighters would be addressed.

he City of Johannesburg held a memorial service for two fire fighters, Daniel Zwane and Michael Letsosa, who were killed in the line of duty. 50-year-old Daniel Zwane and 34-year-old Michael Letsosa died while battling a fire in a seven-storey building situated on the corner of Small and Market streets in the Johannesburg CBD in Gauteng Province, South Africa, on Saturday, 16

The deaths of Zwane and Letsosa highlighted shortcomings within City of Johannesburg Emergency Services and an investigation will be conducted.

Paying respect

The fire fighters turned their backs on CFO Makola

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Fire and Rescue International extends our sincere condolences to the families and colleagues of Daniel Zwane and Michael Letsosa during this sad time.

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News

South African ICS Working Group meets in Cape Town

he South African Incident Command (ICS) Working Group recently met in Cape Town. The Working Group was formed in March 2004 following the Third International Wildland Fire Conference in Sydney Australia in 2003. The SA ICS Working Group 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 order to coordinate and facilitate issues relating to incident command in South Africa.

and was operational for a period of six days. The deputy chairperson commended the City of Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operation and complimented the work performed by the committee, which was evident in the successful implementation of ICS by the City of Cape Town. Etienne du Toit echoed the success of the City of Cape Town and commented that the ICS operation was of world-class quality, the objectives were clear and achieved. The dividends of the ICS training are therefore evident.

In the beginning phases, the USA South Africa agreement was an informal arrangement but as time progressed working with the SA ICS Working Group the arrangement became formalised as the US Agency for International Development signed formal agreements to roll out ICS in South Africa. At first the focus was on wildfire related ICS but as part of further USAID rollout the focus changed to all risk ICS.

ICS Toolkit Etienne du Toit reported that the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre (WCDMC) determined a need for the standardisation of documentation and approached a service provider to develop it by using existing materials and adapting it to the local environment. The documentation will be made available on the SAICS website, which will make it accessible to all.

At its most recent meeting, the chairperson, Colin Deiner, was unable to attend and a recommendation was made to appoint a deputy chairperson to stand in when Deiner is not available. Two nominations were received and Reinard Geldenhuys was voted and appointed as deputy chair. National Qualification Framework standard and information The training sub-committee was established to commence the process to deal with the national qualification standard with the following stakeholders as members: Reinard Geldenhuys, Etienne van Bergen, private industries ie Shell etc and interested service providers. The aim of the training sub-committee will be to investigate various documentation and processes for the obtainment of qualification and standardisation of qualification. Etienne van Bergen will initiate the commencement of the sub-committee. The sub-committee will look at training, set standards of training and consider current, non-accredited training for formal accreditation, commence quality assurance of current training presented, accreditation of training providers etc. The training sub-committee will develop a terms of reference and present it at the next meeting. Thailand conference Fred Favard reported that the USAID arranged an international conference that took place in Thailand with the objective to share best practices of ICS and lessons learnt with the implementation of ICS. It was reported that countries that started implemented the ICS after South Africa are more advance in terms of utilisation, operationalisation. He reported that the countries that are more advanced in ICS, generally experience more disaster incidents and therefore have more opportunities to practice ICS. The countries that have managed to legislate ICS were also more advanced in its implementation. Recent incidents Ian Schnetler commented that the City of Cape Town successfully implemented ICS with the recent fire incident Volume 3 | No 7

A number of aspects were discussed and will be reported on as these items are finalised including the international mutual aid agreement, interactive website, phase2 National Incident Management System (NIMS) all hazard, SA Incident Management Team (IMT) shadow team and SA Field Managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Course Guide.

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News

The commissioning of Namportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Mercedes Benz Centurion industrial pumper at the Port of Walvis Bay

New industrial pumper for Port of Walvis Bay

he Namibian Ports Authority recently commissioned a new state-of-the-art fire engine for its Namport Walvis Bay facilities in order to strengthen its emergency response. The Mercedes Benz Centurion 6x4 industrial pumper was supplied by M&Z Motors Namibia and subcontracted to Fire Raiders, South Africa, for its build. The commissioning of the industrial pumper coincided with the opening of the new Namport Clinic building and was performed by Governor for the Erongo Region, Honourable Cleophas Mutjavikua. Acting executive for port operations, Tino Hanabeb, was the master of ceremonies. The event was attended by numerous state officials and suppliers including Erongo police commissioner, Commissioner S

Hoebeb, chairperson of the Namport Board of Directors, Jerry Muadinohamba, Namport board member, Mathilda Jankie-Shakwa and Titus Tsowaseb, superintendent for security and technical systems for Namport.

Tino Hanabeb receiving the key from M&Z Motorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Wilfried Sell

Dignitaries welcoming the new pumper the traditional way

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After the integration of Walvis Bay into Namibia in 1994, Government owned Namport entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Walvis Bay Municipality for the provision of emergency services to the port due to the lack of emergency response capabilities for landside emergencies. The port has grown tremendously since then in terms of volumes, risks and employee numbers. During the same period, the town of Walvis Bay also grew, placing additional

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News

Swakopmund Fire Service CFO Adri Goosen of and Dennis Basson, deputy fire chief, Walvis Bay attended the ceremony

The new Namport Centurion industrial pumper

pressure on municipal emergency services. Walvis Bay Municipality approached Namport in 2013 to consider the establishment of its own emergency unit. Following a comprehensive risk assessment, Namport embarked on a strategy to establish a fully-fledged emergency response unit. “The placement of an order for the fire engine was the first phase of the strategy,” said Namport CEO, Bisey Uirab, at the launch.

The vehicle’s gross vehicle mass (GVM) is 33 000kg and gross combination mass (GCM) 65 000kg. The five-crew cab is fitted with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) sets for quick and effective response.

“The new fire engine will benefit both Namport and Walvis Bay Municipality as it will substantially reduce Namport’s reliance on the municipality for its emergency fire response service,” CEO Uirab added.

The pumper has a tank capacity of 8 000 litres of water and 200 litres of foam. Both tanks are stainless steel. The Godiva GV 10.000 single stage fire pump offers a maximum flow rate of 12 000l/min with an outlet pressure of 24 bar. Within a compact envelope the pumps features an automatic water ring primer, self-adjusting mechanical seal on a stainless steel shaft directly coupled to the pump drive flange. The Williams Hot Shot Foam System has a three

He continued in saying, “The next phase of this project involves upgrading and extending our existing security and emergency response facility. I can announce that this tender was awarded and civil works have commenced. Recruitment of staff and the acquisition of a fully resourced mobile emergency command centre are also on the cards.” “This, however, does not preclude the council and Namport to enter into a cooperation agreement to join our resources in strengthening the town’s emergency response capabilities, especially to respond to potential emergencies facing industries surrounding the port,” he said. In his keynote address, the governor of the Erongo Region, Hon Cleophas Mutjavikua said, “This is an excellent illustration of a public private partnership (PPP) between the Namibian Ports Authority and the Municipality of Walvis Bay and I want to see more of these partnerships within the Erongo Region. I am urging the Namibian Ports Authority to extend the usage of the fire truck to the municipality in the occurrence of the dreadful shack fires that affect our communities way too often in Kuisebmond.” Specifications The new Namport Centurion industrial pumper costing N$5 299 500, was built on a Mercedes Benz Actros 3344 6x4 chassis with a double cab. The six-cylinder Euro 3 engine has a maximum output of 435hp or 3 320kW at 1 800rpm and a maximum torque of 2 100Nm at 1 080rpm. Volume 3 | No 7

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 13

News The Centurion industrial pumper is fitted with a Williams Ranger 3 Hydro Foam roof monitor and nozzle and under truck protection nozzles and spray bar. The monitor is capable of self-educting foam concentrate and can do so while maintaining a nearly constant pressure (+/10%) and a constant foam percentage regardless of the flow rate. Discharge flow rates from 3 800 to 11 356 litres per minute can be water only, Hydro-Foam using jet pumps or automatic constant/selectable metering or Hydro-Chem for extinguishing liquids and gases under pressure.

Dennis Basson, Titus Tsowaseb and Ian Newton and six percent proportioning rate and combines the proven performance and reliability of balanced pressure technology with the modern efficiency of a hydrostatic drive. A small amount of concentrate is always being circulated through the foam manifold and returned to the suction side of the foam pump ensuring that foam is immediately available should a discharge be opened. The hydrostatic drive system is powered from the chassis transmission via a power take off (PTO). This allows the system to be engaged at any engine rpm, since there is no time to bring the engine to an idle when every second counts. It also allows the concentrate pump to operate independently from the water pump.

The new pumper is also equipped with a hazardous materials (hazmat) spill kit and chemical suits. Clinic The new clinic provides immediate response to workplace medical emergencies for Namport and will also reduce lost time associated with long waiting hours at health facilities. It will similarly assist with the early detection and intervention of occupational health related problems. The cost of the new building was N$1 005 565,75. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The old clinic building offered limited workplace medical services to Namport employees and relied heavily on external medical services. With the port expansion and increased staff numbers, it became necessary for Namport to build a new clinic that will provide extended workplace medical services to its employees.

The Mercedes Benz Centurion industrial pumper demonstration

The Williams Ranger 3 Hydro Foam roof monitor provides full monitor articulation of 360 degree rotation

Jerry Muadinohamba, Hon Cleophas Mutjavikua and Bisey Uirab unveiling the new clinicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plague

Dignitaries touring the clinic

14 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Volume 3 | No 7

News

SAIF/William C Teie Post Graduate Forest and Veld Fire Management Bursary for 2016

he Southern African Institute of Forestry (SAIF) and the William C Teie bursary fund will be awarding a R20 000 bursary per year for 2015 and 2016 to a MSc or MTech post graduate student studying forestry and wildfire management. Teie is the author of the popular ‘Fire Manager’s Handbook on Veld and Forest Fires’, which is edited by Tiaan Pool of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). Teie has kindly donated all South African royalties from the handbook to a bursary fund for South African students carrying out post graduate research in forest and wildfire management. A panel of fire management experts and SAIF council members will select the most suitable candidate.

7. Students must state whether they have any existing bursaries, including the amount and duration of the funding. Applications must be addressed to Corine Viljoen at email: saif@mweb.co.za. The final date for acceptance of applications is 30 November 2015. For further information, please contact Corine on 082 523 8733 or Andrew McEwan at 083 676 5668.

The requirements for the 2015/2016 bursary are as follows: 1. Applicants must be South African citizens (and provide proof). 2. The student must have a basic knowledge of forest or veld fires and their management. 3. The research area must be linked to the management of forest and veld fires. Research into veld fire management must also show direct application or benefits for the South African forestry industry. The research should be related/linked to an industry need/problem (eg request from industry to solve a fire management problem). 4. Applicants must prove that they have registered at one of the South African academic institutions offering a relevant post graduate degree. A short motivation (maximum one page) must be submitted as to why the student is deserving of the bursary, and they must attach a short project proposal for their MSc/MTech. 5. For the second year of the bursary, the student must again supply proof of registration, along with a short note from their supervisor indicating the progress of the research. The student should also provide a short synopsis of their progress/results for the past year. The student must complete the study in two years. 6. Undergraduate results must accompany the application. The main consideration for awarding the bursary will be previous academic performance and the strength of the research theme. Volume 3 | No 7

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 15

News

Marsh Fire Team Competition 2015 Results

he 2015 Marsh Fire Competition was well attended by a number of industrial fire departments throughout South Africa. The purpose of the competition is to foster learning and build morale amongst a team of people who are prepared to put their lives on the line for their fellow colleagues, their employer and shareholders. The annual event was held at three venues in South Africa namely on 8 May 2015 at Epping Fire Station, situated in Cape Town in the Western Cape, 15 May 2015 at Rural Metro International Training Academy situated in Greytown, Kwazulu-Natal and on 22 May 2015 at the ETS Redan Training facility in Vereeniging, Gauteng Scope The competition included a live dry chemical powder (DCP) fire extinguisher drill, a five person live fire hose drill with hose variations ie adding, replacing a length of hose and using collecting and dividing breechings, shipping a hydrant and an obstacle drill that focused on team work. 16 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Marsh Cape Town Results

Culinary Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;dabeni

8 May 15 116

Culinary Paarl

116

Albany Bakery Bellville

115

Mpact Versapak Team A

107

Langeberg / Ashton

104

TwinCare Group Belville

Lucky Star Hout Bay Ltd

Jungle Oats

Mpact Versapak Team B

Mpact Corrugated Epping Team A

Mpact Operations, Corrugated Kuils River

Mpact Corrugated Epping Team B

Marsh KZN Results

Mpact Operations (Pty) Ltd - Felixton Mill

15 May 15 64

Illovo Sugar Merebank Team B

Illovo Sugar Merebank Team A

TwinCare KZN

Metrofile (Pty) Ltd

Marsh Cape Town Results

8 May 15

Nampak DivFood Team B

148

Omnia Fertiliser a division of Omnia Group (Pty) Ltd

129

Mpact Operations (Pty) Ltd Paper Springs Team A

119

Albany Pretoria

116

Nampak DivFood Team A

115

Foodcorp

107

Mpact Corrugated Springs Team B

107

Tiger Consumer Brands t/s Tiger Milling Randfontein

104

Boksburg Team A

100

Clover SA (Pty) Ltd (Lichtenburg)

Nampak DivFood Team C

Tiger Consumer Brands t/s Tiger Milling Hennenman

Mpact Operations (Pty) Ltd Paper Springs Team B

Adcock Midrand

Clover SA (Pty) Ltd (Clayville)

TwinCare Group Kliprivier

Boksburg Team B

Spar Lowveld DC

Mpact Paper Piet Retief

Mpact Corrugated Springs Team A

Mpact Corrugated Brakpan

Metrofile Pty Ltd - Pretoria Division

Volume 3 | No 7

News

Johannesburg winners Nampak DivFood Team B

KZN winners Mpact Operations, Felixton Mill

Cape Town winner’s Culinary N’dabeni and Culinary Paarl tied

Volume 3 | No 7

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 17

eThekwini Fire’s Grinder Challenge 2015

The Grinder Challenge was held at Durban’s North Beach Amphitheatre

Thekwini Fire and Emergency Services recently held its annual Grinder Challenge with participation from a number of other fire services in KwaZuluNatal. This arduous competition was held at Durban’s North Beach Amphitheatre to the delight of many beach goers. Spearheaded by Nicholas Orson, eThekwini’s training officer: fitness and health, the event aimed to improve public perception of what it is required of a fire fighter as well as highlight the demand placed on these unique individuals on a daily basis. Alex Gloster, eThekwini Fire and Emergency Services’ training manager, was the master of ceremonies over the two days.

of 40 individuals. “Since then and with the support of a few dedicated sponsors, we have expanded our horizons to hosting the 2014 event on the North Beach Amphitheatre and including fire fighting organisations from all over KZN,” said Orson. “The Grinder Challenge also serves as a selection process to select a team that will then go on to represent the municipality at the annual Toughest Fire Fighter Alive Challenge held in Cape Town and a smaller team that will represent the municipality at the bi-annual Combat Challenge held in

Johannesburg,” added Orson. Last year’s Grinder Challenge winner, Simiso Gumede, achieved third position in the National Toughest Fire Fighter Alive competition in 2014. The 2015 challenge built on the success garnered by the 2014 competition and saw a total of 102 registrations with only 70 participants on the two days of competition but it still managed to supersede the successes of the previous year. Although the event was essentially a provincial challenge, Krugersdorp Fire Department as well as Airport Company South Africa’s

The Grinder Challenge is a fire fighter specific fitness challenge that aims to simulate the most physical and critical elements of the job in a competitive environment, to highlight the importance of physical fitness for the fire fighter. The event itself has been in existence since 2012 and has proven successful in its attempts to promote its aims. The event started as a simple fitness challenge in the drill yard of the central fire station headquarters, enticing a meagre competitor quota 18 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

The winners, congratulations!

Volume 3 | No 7

eThekwini Fire’s Grinder Challenge 2015 Overall winners Overall Grinder Champion 2015 – Philani Jwara (eThekwini Fire) Overall Female Grinder Champion 2015 – Precious Mpungose (eThekwini Fire) Overall Runner Up 2015 – Simiso Gumede (eThekwini Fire) Overall Master’s Grinder Champion (over 40yrs) – Mike Mathee (eThekwini Fire)

MSA Africa was one of the sponsors

Male category winners 18 – 29 – Philani Jwara (eThekwini Fire) 30 – 34 – RS Shinga (eThekwini Fire) 35 – 39 – Thabane Mgumbeza (eThekwini Fire) 40 – 44 – Mathews Moloro (eThekwini Fire) 45 – 49 – Mike Mathee (eThekwini Fire) 50 and over – Sean Porter (eThekwini Fire) Females 18 – 29 – Precious Mpungose (eThekwini Fire) 30 – 34 – Suzanne Mdadane (eThekwini Fire) 35 – 39 – T Jali (eThekwini Fire) 40 and over – Lorraine Canham (Transnet Ports Authority) Team relay winners eThekwini Fire – B division/Central Region

(ACSA) East London Airports Fire Department joined in the provincial challenge. Other participants included Transnet Ports Authorities, Engen Refineries Fire Department, Msunduzi Fire Department and the bulk of entrants were from eThekwini Fire and Emergency Services.

the tower with a 20kg foam drum, hoisting two coiled lengths (30m) of 63mm hose at the top; a simulated victim drag with a 90kg truck tyre over 40m and the traditional stair climb of 21 storeys, all performed in full bunker gear with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) sets.

The Challenge The challenge involved five stations arranged in a circuit fashion and participants competed in pairs. The course comprised of a hose drag over 60m comprising of two lines of hose, each consisting of 75m of reconstructed fire hose; the Kaiser Force sled where the contestants had to use a dead blow sledgehammer and drive a 75kg metal beam along a metal track a distance of one metre; foam drum shuttle run with two foam drums over 24m; the tower, which included running up and down

Results The 2015 Grinder challenge overall winner was Philani Jwara and the overall female winner, Precious Mpungose.

20 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Simiso Gumede was this year’s runner up and the toughest master fire fighter was Mike Matthee, who also posted the fourth fastest time of all competitors showing that age is no obstacle at age 45. eThekwini Central B won the team relay with a time of 02:42:59.

Top 10 1 Jwara EP 2 Gumede S 3 Mgumbeza TE 4 Mathee M 5 Bishop C 6 Nene SSP 7 Poole L 8 Mjana SN 9 Ndlovu GV 10 Porter SJ

27 25 37 45 38 23 35 33 37 50

M M M M M M M M M M

eThekwini eThekwini eThekwini eThekwini eThekwini eThekwini Engen eThekwini eThekwini eThekwini

“Challenges as such provide a platform for fire fighters to portray their unique skills and abilities and highlight the importance of physical fitness through the simulation of tasks, such as those experienced in the grinder challenge. It also creates a culture of physical training on shift and is a defined motivator in ensuring fire fighters maintain their physical prowess as fire fighters,” said Nicholas Orson, organiser of the event. Volume 3 | No 7

Strap

Volume 3 | No 7

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 21

News

Launch of KwaZulu-Natal fire season

Launch of the winter fire season by the KZNFPA at Shafton airbase in Karkloof

he KwaZulu-Natal Umbrella Fire Protection Association (KZNFPA) in conjunction with Working on Fire (WoF) and the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) launched the 2015 winter fire season at an open day held in Howick, South Africa. The event, which was held at the KZNFPA’s headquarters at the Shafton Airbase just outside Howick, was organised in order to create a wider awareness of the province’s fire risk and to promote and encourage partnerships in lieu of the upcoming fire season.

Carl van Loggerenberg

The event started off with a drill by Working on Fire and master of ceremonies, Hloniphile Ndlovu, welcomed all the dignatories and guests. Carl van Loggerenberg of Working on Fire (WoF) gave a brief historic overview of the Working on Fire programme and said that WoF creates jobs, increase skill levels and contributes to the overall integrated fire management strategy. “That’s what it’s all about. Reaching people where it matters most,” said Van Loggerenberg. “The teams have completed the yellow card training in March 2015 certifying them ready

Ricky Pillay

Jonty Dlanzi 22 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Ayanda Mnyungula

Bobby Hoole

Simon Thomas Volume 3 | No 7

The aerial display was performed by Dave Kleyr

WoF crew doing the fire wall run

to be on the fire line this season,” he added. “Between February and April this year, in partnership with the PDMC, we held 28 fire safety workshops and presentations, had 14 door to door campaigns and reached 99 schools,” said Van Loggerenberg. The PDMC’s Jonty Dlanzi highlighted the importance of integrated fire management. “We come together and work together. Fire now forms part of the Provincial Disaster Management Centre’s portfolio.” He added that the PDMC recently acquired a number of vehicles with the assistance of the 911 Fund. Ricky Pillay of Mgungundlovu Fire Department provided a breakdown of the services offered and resources available at the fire department. “Although we have an active fire safety programme, we deal with a lot of other incidents. Apart from structural and wildfires, we also tend to moto vehicle accidents, rescues and suicides, amongst others,” added Pillay. “Being a fire fighter is a calling.” Booby Hoole of the KZNFPA said that the KZNFPA was the first registered umbrella fire protection association in South Africa. “We assist the new FPAs in our province and our relationship with the PDMC is growing,” said Hoole. He added, “You cannot put a cost on a human life. We encourage farmers to put in adequate preparation and take all precautions at all times,” said Hoole. He then detailed the resources deployed for the upcoming fire season ie 11 single engine air tankers Volume 3 | No 7

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 23

News (SEATS), five spotters, eight Working on Fire aircraft, which includes an Airtractor AT802 and 31 Working on Fire ground teams.

The Working on Fire drill

The Department of Forestry and Fisheriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (DAFF) Ayanda Mnyungula said that the National Veld and Forest Fire Act promotes integrated fire management through the FPAs. Mnyungula added that a recent national risk assessment done by Government indicated that KwaZulu-Natal Province was prone to wildfires and as such DAFF was working closely with WoF and the PDMC to reduce the risk of fires in the Province. During the programme, the WoF Midlands and Shongweni teams entertained attendees with vibrant traditional music and dance performances. Simon Thomas provided the thank yous to all those involved in organising the launch and an aerial demonstration performed by Dave Kleyr was preceded by WoF ground teams doing their firewall run. KZNFPA currently has 24 affiliated FPAs in the province covering just over 6,5 million hectares and incorporating in excess of 3 500 members (landowners) in total.

The WoF team entertained all with a vibrant traditional dance performance

The primary airbases where KZNFPA is operationally involved include Shafton in Karkloof, Riverdal in Richmond, Kwambonambi, Kataza in Melmoth and Winterton.

The resources on display including the new PDMC vehicles

24 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Volume 3 | No 7

News

Wilderness search and rescue training exercise By Schalk-Willem van der Merwe, rescue coordinator, Cape Peninsula University of Technology

outh Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), in recent years, have had marked teaching orientation towards mountain rescue related rope work but not limited to, due to the industry need and accessibility of such resources. Hence, I felt the need to depart from the norm and ramp up the wilderness search and rescue (WSAR) experience to a more technically demanding level, by including an actual simulated multiday rescue exercise including major role players in the field, such as

Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR), a provincial coordination organisation chaired by provincial government rescue services and South African Radio League (SARL) amateur radio emergency communication network (HAMNET). The objectives, amongst others, were navigation, search management, command and control (tactical) and communication. Set up The would be rescuers were tasked to hike to the base of operations from where the operation would be

Route map of groups 1 and 2 26 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

conducted. The time frame provided was impossible to achieve in such a short period of time, intentionally creating an overdue scenario where each team had to determine the risk versus reward of night navigation oppose to spending an unexpected night out on the mountain. All teams were fully equipped for such an event. Teams were tracked by means of global positioning system (GPS) tracking managed and provided by HAMNET SARL. Whilst the rescue teams made their way to the base of operation, the base was prepared

Planning and information gathering Volume 3 | No 7

News for the following daysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; exercise, similarly as what would be found in an operational command vehicle. Day one: activation/rescue Western Cape Government Rescue (Metro Rescue) assisted during this phase where they provided search managers in training to conduct the exercise under the watchful eye of the subject expert for the province, Charl Niewoudt. The scenario was that a paraglider was overdue. The search managers had the opportunity to interview a fellow paraglider pilot (actual) who activated the search and rescue (SAR) operation. This was necessary to gain useful insight in the understanding of the flight dynamics and possible route to establish probability areas for the downed pilot. Due to the remote mountainous terrain there was neither cellular phone reception nor radio repeaters for the WSAR channel, which made communication a priority in terms of a line of sight relay station, both for communication and GPS tracking. Expert guidance was provided by HAMNET of placement, range and limitation. There were no less than three relay stations due to the escarpment to enable communication during the operation. Hasty teams were sent to probable areas on the first day of the rescue. However, the operation was limited to daylight hours only due to unnecessary risk associated with a night time operation without an adequate reward for such risk, despite the fact that for an actual activation the search teams will operate around the clock. One should also bear in mind the decrease probability of visual detection during the night.

Scenario summary Volume 3 | No 7

There was no cell phone reception nor radio repeaters for the WSAR channel making communication a priority in terms of a line of sight relay station Day two From the onset of the operation it was made clear to the search managers that a simulated spotting aircraft was available from the second day. The downed pilot was spotted early on the second day (day three for the CPUT WSAR students) by one of the hasty teams sent out after which the closes team was dispatched (from the GPS tracking) to tend to the pilot. The simulated patient only suffered broken ankles and was managed accordingly by the BEMC students and evacuated to the nearest road to be transported to definitive care. Challenges Not only was the establishment of communications a challenge, nonetheless, the weather also posed a marked challenge as one would not expect such cold conditions

(single digits) this early in the year. The highest radio relay teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hydration bladders froze overnight. Lessons The lessons learnt during such integrated exercises are invaluable in the long run. The rescue teams (BEMC students) was thoroughly prepared and capable for the task at hand but suffered the commonest problem faced by all teams alike, which can only be negated by experience. Excess weight of the packs limited mobility and will subsequently be reduced. Special thank you A special thank you to Patrick Lane of Cape Nature, Charl Niewoudt of Western Cape Government Rescue (Metro Rescue), Matt Feinstein and Paul van Sporen of Cederberg WSAR and Hamnet SARL.

Tactical overview FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 27

News

Team effort saves curious child’s arm after accident with mincer According to Dr du Preez, Tristan was in shock but surprisingly calm, even before she administered the anaesthetic. “While his mother was holding his hand he was calm but if she moved away he would start getting upset,” she says.

Photo: Netcare

Dr du Toit remarks that Tristan’s case was complicated by the fact that the solid bimetal machine stuck on his arm meant that X-rays could not show the extent of the damage. “You know that the little boy is hurt but have no idea how bad the injury is,” she said.

Plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr Liezl du Toit and anaesthetist, Dr Ledine du Preez with Tristan Cloete

four-year-old boy, whose childlike curiosity led to an accident involving a mincing machine, is recovering well at home thanks to the efforts of a team of emergency workers and specialists at Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital. Tristan Cloete was exploring the workings of the electronic mincer at his home in Atlantis, Cape Town, South Africa, when, to his mother’s horror, his hand became stuck in the machine. The incident occurred on the afternoon of Easter Monday. Tristan’s mother, Melanie Cloete, says the family immediately raced the child, with his hand still stuck in the machine, to Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital for emergency care. “We were just praying and praying that he would not lose his hand,” she recalls. At the hospital’s emergency department, anaesthetist Dr Ledine du Preez realised that the removal of the mincing machine would require highly specialised skills. Fortunately she knew

28 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

just the person who would be able to access the necessary resources, thanks to his years of experience in fire and rescue services nationally. That man was her husband, chief director of disaster management and fire brigade services for the Western Cape. Colin Deiner, who mobilised members of the Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service, the provincial Medical Emergency Transport and Rescue Organisation and an emergency doctor from the provincial health department, Dr Wayne Smith. Deiner says: “They all came to Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital and we spoke to plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr Liezl du Toit, who was attending to Tristan. The little patient had to be anaesthetised and was taken into the operating theatre.” Dr du Toit notes that it was extremely fortuitous that the husband and wife, with their different specialities, were on hand for this particularly complex case.

To enable the specialists to assess the extent of Tristan’s injury, the team of several emergency personnel had to use reciprocating saws to carefully cut the machine off of his arm. Cutting through metal causes heat and so water had to be constantly sprayed on the site to avoid burning Tristan’s arm while the mincer was being cut away. “After about two hours we were able to release his arm,” Deiner says. Dr du Toit remarks that it is extremely unusual for emergency workers to be present in an operating theatre and that the team performed their work with great precision so as to prevent further injury to Tristan. Dr du Toit and orthopaedic surgeon, Dr André Heyns, then meticulously cleaned the area as any residue would increase the chance of infection, and thereafter carefully closed the wounds. “None of us could have done the procedure alone, it was an absolute team effort,” Dr du Toit says, describing the emergency workers as ‘real heroes’. Tristan was discharged on Friday, 10 April 2015 and spent time recovering at home. His mom extended her heartfelt thanks to all those who did not hesitate to help Tristan in the family’s hour of need. “Tristan tells me, ‘My hand is going to be fine’. That’s how positive he is. As for the rest of the family, we are all just praying that he will have full use of his hand when he recovers,” she adds. Volume 3 | No 7

News

Cape Winelands District Municipality Fire Services passing-out parade

n 5 December 2014, the Cape Winelands District Municipality was proud to hold the Fire Services passing-out parade for the class of 2014 in Stellenbosch, situated in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The 18 students who qualified hail from the municipalities of Stellenbosch, Witzenberg, Overstrand and Langeberg. They enrolled for the Fire Fighter 1 course at the Cape Winelands Fire and Rescue Training Academy in order to obtain their NFPA 1001 qualification, which consists of three courses, namely Fire Fighter 1, Hazmat Awareness and First Aid Level 3. The South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI) accepts this international standard as the South African level of competence to perform as a professional fire fighter.

Cape Winelands District Municipality Fire Services passing-out parade The Cape Winelands Fire Services pride themselves as members of the fire service fraternity and commit to actively seek ways to improve their

standards and to maintain the legacy and positive traditions of those who worked hard to make fire fighting a noble and humble career and a lifestyle.

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lalierainsford@gmail.com FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 29

Backdrafts, rollovers and flashovers

Backdrafts and flashovers By Colin Deiner, Chief Director, Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government

There are various ways to recognise the signs of a potential flashover or backdraft

he phenomenon of the flashover and backdraft has over years been the second largest cause of fire deaths after structural collapse. In 1981 a flashover in a casino in Dublin, Ireland, killed 48 people. The following year a flashover in an apartment complex in Los Angeles killed 24 people. A London underground rail system fire in 1987 killed 37 people including a fire officer as fire gasses unexpectedly and violently ignited. Other major incidents occurred in St Petersburg, Russia, in 1991 when eight fire fighters were killed in a corridor flashover in a hotel and in Dusseldorf Airport in Germany in 1996 when 17 fire fighters were killed in a flashover. In 2002 five Paris fire fighters died after being trapped in two flashover related incidents. A report entitled ‘Us Fire Service Fatalities in Structural Fires, 1999 TO 2009’ (prepared by Rita F Fahy PhD) indicates that of the 78 fire fighters who died of asphyxiation in the line of duty, the main causes were structural collapse (27 deaths of which 18 were due to roof collapse) while the second most (13) was due to the progress of fire (flashover or backdraft.) The report goes on to state that: “The major causes of these traumatic injuries inside structures were fire fighters becoming lost inside, structural collapse and fire progression including backdraft, flashover and explosion. 30 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

South Africa is a much smaller country than the USA and respond to fewer fires with an obvious deficit in fire related injuries. The fires itself are, however, not smaller or different and the threat of flashovers and backdrafts are the same anywhere. This is why it is important for us all to understand the dangers they pose and the signs of a backdraft/flashover occurring. The most important point I can make here is that it is not up to the incident commander to recognise and manage the potential backdraft/flashover. He/she is not inside the building, so it is up to each fire fighter working the fire to recognise the warning signs and act accordingly. Definitions Some purists would criticise the use of backdraft and flashover in the same sentence as they have different causes and dynamics. This is true and we can also add ‘fire gas ignitions’ to the equations. So let’s attempt to define these different animals. Flashover: “The sudden involvement of a room or an area in flames from floor to ceiling caused by thermal radiation feedback.” Thermal radiation feedback refers to energy of the fire that radiates to the other contents of the room Volume 3 | No 7

Backdrafts, rollovers and flashovers It is not up to the incident commander to recognise and manage the potential backdraft/flashover

from the surrounding surfaces (walls, floor and ceiling) which raises them to their ignition temperature. This will result in the room contents suddenly and violently igniting. Flashovers are temperature driven incidents and occur when the fire has evolved to a fully developed stage. Backdraft: “Occurs when fresh air is introduced into a smouldering fire and heated gases enter their flammable range and ignite with explosive force.” Other than flashovers, which are caused by temperature, backdrafts are caused by super-heated air. This makes the understanding of the two and the reading of the signs of each so important. Flashover I once attended a course presented by a very experienced fire officer from the USA who referred to fire as a “non-thinking enemy”. The point is that fires will follow the rules of physics. It can’t change its plans or outthink you (only if you are really severely mentally challenged) and it certainly can’t do what we saw in the movie. Think of this when you consider the physics of a flashover. The size of the room, its contents, ventilation and insulation will determine its flashover potential. It is therefore obvious to accept that the possibility of flashover is bigger in a smaller room than in a large structure with high ceilings due to the closer proximity of combustible materials in the more confined space. The room contents will also affect the flashover potential. More combustible materials will burn at a higher intensity, produce more heat and radiated energy and therefore 32 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

increase the possibility of a flashover occurring. Due to the fact that more carbon-based interior furnishings are used nowadays than twenty years ago, we see rooms involved in fire reach peak temperatures very fast and generate larger volumes of smoke, which reaches flashover conditions much faster than in the past. A sufficient supply of air is required to ventilate the fire (although it is not air driven by definition). The introduction of improved insulation such as thermal-paned windows and ceiling insulation work together to trap heat and flammable gasses inside, causing an explosive atmosphere. Training fire fighters to recognise the signs of possible flashovers and backdrafts are imperative for their safety. As mentioned earlier, the incident commander is not in a position to recognise the signs and advise the interior crews accordingly. The first sign of a potential flashover will be the high heat generated by the fire. This can be the type and volume of materials involved and the stage of development of the fire. The longer you take to get water on to the fire, the bigger the chances of a flashover. The change of conditions such as a sudden increase in interior temperature is a sure sign of imminent flashover. In larger buildings, fire crews could experience a situation where a large fire is in contact with the ceiling, ignites the fire gasses up here and rolls along the ceiling towards them. This is generally referred to as ‘rollover’ and should not be confused with a flashover. It does, of course, super heat the room much quicker and is a definite warning of a potential violent flashover. Volume 3 | No 7

Backdrafts, rollovers and flashovers Another positive sign of an impending flashover is the colour of the smoke. It will take on the deep black colour you see when a heap of tyres are burning. The reason for this is that the smoke contains a large volume of unburned products. When this ‘black smoke’ reaches the correct air/fuel mixture, it will ignite. Due to the potential energy already existing in the smoke, there is a strong possibility of a smoke explosion higher up in the building. A note on personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE has become more specialised with time and now allows fire crews to move deeper into fires than before, enabling them to get to the seat of the fire. Flash hoods have become an essential part of the ensemble. Not so long ago the limitations of our PPE only allowed us to stay in a burning structure for a limited period. Fire fighters generally relied on this experience and ‘instincts’ to determine their position and movement in an involved structure. The ability we now have will allow our crews to stay in a structure for longer and brings with it the possibility of them being exposed to serious flashover risks without being aware of it. It is therefore important that your command structure allows for the monitoring of interior crews and effective evacuation protocols. Surviving the flashover The first priority is to recognise the warning signs; especially if you are moving rapidly towards the seat of the fire. Early recognition of the warning signs could allow to adjust your fire attack such as increasing ventilation or moving crews into safe areas. Stay low as far as possible and maintain situational awareness at all times. Attack teams often tend to fixate on the fire and forget about keeping an eye on the surrounding risks such as the integrity of the structure, possible escape routes and the location of search and rescue teams or other fire suppression teams. Remember that the smaller the target, the less chance you have of being hit. Staying close to the ground and, if you are operating a combination nozzle, adjust it to full-fog above your head to disrupt the thermal balance by creating large amounts of steam. Your hand line can be very effective in slowing down the probability of a flashover. Cooling the fire area will greatly reduce the possibility of flashovers. We have all been taught not to direct water into smoke. The exception is when you detect the smoke colour getting darker and experience a rapid increase in heat. Also if you see a rollover, immediately direct your stream at the black smoke. Ventilation will always be a very effective tool for preventing flashovers. I have often mentioned that the mark of a good fire service is one that can move smoke as well as it moves water. Spending a lot of time on ventilation techniques and strategies will enable you to get to the roofs quicker or set up your horizontal ventilation in the right positions and ensure that the interior becomes more life sustaining. Care must be taken when fighting a fire in an advanced stage, not to spread the fire into unaffected areas. Any search and rescue activities in a fully involved structure should be accompanied by an attack line. The atmosphere Volume 3 | No 7

A rollover should not be confused with a flashover

inside the structure must be cooled down and ventilated as soon as possible if there is a possibility of entrapped victims. Their chances of survival will depend greatly on this. Training: The flashover simulator The flashover simulator is a training unit designed by the Swedish National Survival Board in 1986. It was adopted all over the world as the definitive training simulator for flashover awareness in subsequent years. A number of fire departments and even some training centres also built them in South Africa. If you don’t have a simulator, try to find out which departments close to you does have one and arrange a training visit (remember to take doughnuts). On the other hand, it isn’t an expensive prop to build yourself and will continue to provide valuable training for many years. The flashover simulator consists of two metal (14-gauge steel) shipping containers: the burn module and the observation module. They are connected and are open to each other at the connection point. Students are seated on low benches in the observation area and observe a controlled fire in the burn module. All instructors and students are suited in full turnout gear, including flash-hoods and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The goals of the flashover simulator are to teach fire fighters to recognise the warning signs of flashovers and understand the limits of their PPE. Time in the simulator is FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 33

Backdrafts, rollovers and flashovers about fifteen minutes and, if the conditions are good, a full on flashover will happen within a controlled environment. I will deal more in more detail with flashover training in future editions. Backdraft Backdrafts occur in the smouldering phase of the fire when most of the oxygen has been consumed. The heat from the free-burning phase remains, however, and flammable products of combustion are suspended in the smoke. All of this just needs an injection of fresh air to burst into rapid, almost instantaneous combustion. This situation normally comes about due to inadequate ventilation early on. The most common cause for this injection of fresh air is someone opening a door or window of the smouldering room. In South Africa we also have to deal with the heavy tiled roof structures in a lot of residential occupancies. If the fire penetrates the ceiling and communicates with the roof void, you have a large open space with nothing but fresh air and timber trusses holding up a heavy tiled roof. Oh, and you also have a heavy geyser precariously perched up there. Not only will you be dealing with a backdraft overhead but you might also be wearing a geyser if you’re not careful. So how do you recognise backdraft conditions? Well, the first would be have a common sense approach when you respond to a structure fire. The first thing will be to look at the structure you are approaching. A cold winter’s morning response to a fire in a confined room in residential structure with little or no flame showing or smoke stained windows should begin to tell you that opening the door will really ruin your day. The first-in engine arriving at the fire might see smoke leaving the building in puffs or at intervals and black smoke becoming a dense greyish yellow colour. This is another sure sign of an impending backdraft. I have mentioned in previous articles the value of the firstin engine company doing a ‘three quarters’ drive-by of the building and get a view of the front three sides before committing the unit to the incident. This will stop the crew from getting tunnel vision and rushing in on the most obvious opening with catastrophic results. Sector safety officers must be very attentive when they see a sudden rapid movement of air inward soon after an opening is made. This is an acute indicator of an imminent backdraft. Backdraft prevention and survival If backdraft conditions are recognised upon arrival, all efforts must be focussed on preventing it from occurring. Vertical ventilation is the best way to lessen the risk. When putting a ventilation crew on the roof, care must be taken to ensure that they will not be compromised by the sudden rush of smoke, heat and flames that will blow out of the newly created opening. Positive pressure ventilation (PPV) should never be considered when backdraft indicators are high. When using PPV in a confined structure fire, take care to ensure 34 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

that an adequate ventilation outlet opening is created. The lack of an outlet for the generated air could lead to a backdraft when the fire is in its decay phase. When you are moving through a structure with multiple compartments (rooms), each compartment must be evaluated for a possible backdraft. Heat and smoke can be trapped in cells within a room and when your crew moves from a well-ventilated room into a compromised compartment, it could cause a backdraft. Once backdraft conditions develop within a compartment, it may be necessary to simply do nothing but monitor the space until the smouldering fire goes out due to lack of oxygen or fuel or to allow the gases within the space to cool below their ignition temperature. This can be accelerated if a piercing nozzle is introduced into the space. We are all taught from the start of our careers not to stand directly in front of a doorway or other openings when a backdraft is possible. Consider the V-shaped force that will blow outward near the opening. The gaseous products of the backdraft will expand as it comes through the opening because of the lesser pressure of the atmosphere outside the building. Also remember that that you may not encounter backdraft conditions on arrival but that it could develop during the course of the operation. This has often happened and incident safety officers must ensure that the tell-tale conditions are monitored continuously through the job. In closing It is a fact that fires burn hotter today than in the past. The introduction of new textiles have increased the fire load of buildings immensely over the years. The higher risk of smoke and toxic gasses has further increased the hazards you may encounter. There are various ways to recognise the signs of a potential flashover or backdraft and it is important that all fire fighters responding to a structure fire be well trained in recognising these signs. You can also only mitigate the possibility of either occurring if you understand the dynamics of the situation and why it is leading to a potential disastrous situation. Recognise that no two situations will ever be the same. Continuously evaluate and make sure you pull your crews out of a possible backdraft/flashover situation if they are already committed to fighting the fire. If you have not yet committed them, make sure you are satisfied that all potential hazards have been negated before you do so. If you are not sure, don’t commit them. During a chat with the publisher recently we agreed that if we were to adhere strictly to the Occupational Health and Safety Act no one would ever do aggressive interior fire fighting. The risks are tremendous and we must use all the tools at our disposal to ensure that our fire fighters are as safe as they can possibly be when they do enter a structure involved in a well-developed fire. Volume 3 | No 7

Backdrafts, rollovers and flashovers

A sequence of photographs taken by Lee Raath-Brownie at Windhoek Fire Servicesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; flashover simulator

Volume 3 | No 7

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 35

Fire service

City of Windhoek Emergency Management

The Windhoek Emergency Management team

he City of Windhoek Emergency Management (CoWEM) was founded in 1958 and is situated in the Republic of Namibiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital, Windhoek. A dual fire and emergency medical service, which also serves as the emergency response agency for disaster management, this is a dynamic fire service enabling it to cater to this growing cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s increase in population and industry.

The service operates from four strategically located fire stations ie Windhoek Central Fire Brigade, Otjomuise Fire Station, Diaz Fire Station and Maxuilili Fire Station. Its current headquarters, situated at Windhoek Central Fire Brigade in Sheffield Street, was officially commissioned in 1979. A six-bay station, its layout is similar to that of the fire services in South Africa. Otjomuise Fire Station is a

three bay fire station and serves as a stand in service for the headquarters. It is also the busiest fire station as it has the best access routes. Maxuilili Fire Station is situated deep into the informal settlement and is a two-bay station with an ambulance rescue unit and bush pumper. It was built as a result of a risk assessment done in 2014. Covering an area of approximately 5 352km2, the City of Windhoek Municipality is home to 325 858 inhabitants, according to the 2011 census. Windhoek is located in central Namibia is also the largest city in Namibia and is the social, economic, political and cultural centre of the country. Nearly every Namibian national enterprise, governmental body, educational and cultural institution is headquartered there.

The management team Erwyn Skrywer, Carlo Louw, CFO Raymond Kapia, Naftalie Isaaks and Tangeni Uusiku 36 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Fire and Rescue International visited this bustling service and interviewed its chief fire officer (CFO), Raymond Kapia. CFO Kapia provided us with some insight into the history and current status of the service. Volume 3 | No 7

Fire service further responsible for the inspection of commercial and industrial property; the enforcement of fire prevention code of practices and municipal by-laws; holding practical demonstrations on fire prevention techniques, public education; fire investigative activities and related follow-up and arson investigations. The division also reviews all plans for construction within the city for proper fire and life safety code adherence.

Aerial view of Windhoek’s apparatus and ambulances History The Town Council of Windhoek became committed to the fire service way back in 1917 with five volunteers and horses. The scope of its services has grown exponentially since formally being founded in 1958. The first fire chief was appointed in 1959 and is known as the ‘founding father’ of the fire service. “We have grown from a service focussed primarily on fire suppression to one that provides fire suppression, fire prevention, emergency medical services, heavy rescue, water rescue, hazardous material response, community awareness safety education and many other humanitarian services,” stated CFO Kapia. Organisational structure With an annual budget of N$ 108 484 736, Windhoek Emergency Management is headed up by CFO Kapia, with his second in command, deputy chief fire officer Kupaha Uazukuani, followed by four section heads: operations, fire prevention, training and logistics. “As a local authority emergency service, we are legally obliged to operate only within the boundaries of our area of jurisdiction. This area is divided in four operational areas with each fire station providing emergency coverage to each area,” added CFO Kapia. The support and logistics section is headed up by assistant chief Carlo Louw and forms the support 38 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

mechanism for the division providing services and support systems to all divisional components involved in the incidents. These include administrative support, facilities, transportation, equipment maintenance and fuelling, feeding, communications and responder rehabilitation. Assistant chief Naftalie Isaaks heads up the operations section. The CoWEM is responsible for protecting the lives and property of citizens endangered by fire, life threatening illness or injury, hazardous material and major disasters. An emergency officer, a senior station officer and four station officers command the operational section. These six officers take on the responsibility for overseeing emergency response from the four fire stations. The acting head for the training section is senior station officer Erwin Skrywer. The division operates a training school, which is accredited by the Southern African Emergency Services Institute and it offers a wide range of fire fighting, hazmat and emergency medical courses. The section provides training for emergency services officers from municipalities all over the country. Volunteer fire fighters also regularly update their skills to ensure that they develop and maintain a high standard of operational efficiency, putting such volunteers on a par with full-time fire fighters. Assistant chief Tangeni Uusiku heads up the fire safety section. CoWEM is

Challenges Some of the challenges faced by the service include inadequate funding, staff shortages, lack of tertiary training for senior staff in the country and lack of growth and capacity to respond to the rapid urbanisation faced by the city. “Our biggest challenge is the rapid urbanisation and growth in businesses,” said CFO Kapia. “We are masters in improvising to our own detriment as people think that we are coping but we are not.” Staffing challenges also concern Chief Kapia. “The ‘why’ generation just wants a pay cheque. We promote old school discipline, respect and a right attitude. We invest in the training of these youngsters for three years and then they resign.” To stay abreast of technology and the changing face of the modern fire service, Windhoek Emergency Management actively networks with industry leaders. “We network with a wide range of with international agencies and institutions such as Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE), The South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI), US Forest Service, Fire Protection Association (FPA) and International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC). We also benchmark with the metropolitan municipalities with a proven track record in South Africa. We have a good relationship with the City of Cape Town, City of Ekurhuleni, Cape Winelands and Breede Valley District Municipalities. I recently visited the Mopane District Municipality in the Limpopo Province and was amazed by their good practices. As a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and South African National Standards (SANS), we are kept abreast on the latest methods and application of international standards,” elaborated Kapia. Volume 3 | No 7

Fire service Risk profile The City of Windhoek has significant large area of suburbs with formal building structures and a small area of informal settlements. The fire risk in the formal areas is considerably low as the division proactively implements fire safety strategies in built environments and the communities in those areas are aware and apply fire preventative measures. Active and passive fire protection is applied considerably in formal areas hence the risk is moderate to low. The service encounters most of the fire and other emergency incidents in the informal settlement areas within the city boundaries. The risk in these areas is categorised high because of poor living standard that contributes to many socio-economic problems within the communities living in the informal settlements. The communities construct their dwellings with all kinds of combustible materials; hence their dwellings are vulnerable to fire incidents. The service is challenged by the continued expansion of the informal

settlement. “We are faced with huge challenges such as accessibility to reach the incident scene, lack of fire water availability because of absence of fire water reticulation in those areas and the lack of resource availability to cope with the growing population in the informal settlements. Largest incident The largest incident attended was the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal fire in 2007. The SADC Tribunal was housed in the Turnhalle building in Windhoek and burned down on 18 January 2007. The court room was completely destroyed. “This fire was intense due to the huge fuel load. One fire fighter was seriously injured and sustained third degree burns,” stated Kapia. Operations The service most commonly responds to informal settlement fires and prehospital emergency medical response, then motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) performing rescue and extrication. Being a dual service, emergency service practitioners also provide emergency medical service. “Some

95 percent of the capital’s fire fighters are certified as emergency care practitioners and are thus called upon to handle two demanding roles, which they selflessly perform on gruelling 24-hour shifts; rendering both ambulance and fire fighting assistance. Ambulances are also equipped with automatic defibrillators, which facilitate early defibrillation, a proven lifesaving technique,” added Kapia. The hazardous materials (hazmat) team is a highly trained, specialised unit based at the division’s headquarters in Sheffield Street. The team handles all types of incidents involving hazardous materials such as fuel, natural gas and chemical spills or leaks. Windhoek has a technical rescue unit that handles emergencies requiring specialised extrication, confined space rescue, high-angle rescue, elevator rescue and water rescues. Extrication from vehicles or machinery or structural collapse is the responsibility of officers based at all three emergency stations, while certified lifesavers are on hand to respond to any water emergency.

The Scania Bronto Skylift F55RLX

The Scania urban rural pumper

Mercedes Benz Axor 2628 industrial tanker

The Mercedes Benz Destroyer urban rescue pumper

Volume 3 | No 7

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 39

Fire service Urban rescue pumpers: 8 Industrial tankers: 1 Aerial appliances: 2 Wildfire units: 3 Hazmat unit: 1 Response vehicles: 14 Utility vehicles: 5 Technical support: 1 Ambulances: 8

Senior station officer Erwin Skrywer at the flashover simulator The high angle rescue team is equipped and trained to rescue victims trapped in above or below ground emergencies. All technical rescue personnel are trained to handle elevator rescues. Personnel are rotated in order to be more proficient in all competencies. No services are outsourced as the field of fire engineering and rescue is relatively unknown to the private sector. “Apart from a few ambulance companies, we do not have local fire science and safety specialists,” said Kapia. Equipment Windhoek Emergency Management boasts an impressive arsenal of fire apparatus, albeit an ageing fleet. The fleet of 51 vehicles consists of: Rescue pumpers: 5 Rescue/salvage units: 3

The rescue pumpers include three 2009 Mercedes Benz Destroyer heavy duty pumpers, each with 3 500l water capacity from Fire Raiders, one of which is a heavy rescue unit and a 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser with a 500l capacity. The eight urban rescue pumpers are all heavy duty Mercedes Benz’ varying from 1980 to 2014 models with water capacities ranging from 1 800l to a 6 000l capacity 2014 model, which was supplied by Marcè. The three rescue/salvage units consist of two Magirus Deutz 1982 models and a 1990 Mercedes Benz. The aerial appliances include a Scania Bronto Skylift F55RLX with a reach of 55m acquired in 2012 from Fire Raiders and a 1976 Magirus Deutz ladder, which is still operational. In 2013 the service acquired a Mercedes Benz Axor 2628 industrial tanker with a 10 000l water capacity fitted with a Darley pump from Marcè. Equipment shortfalls When asked regarding what equipment and resources are needed to fulfil its wish list, Chief Kapia said, “The list is too long. Unfortunately, we never receive the required funding that corresponds to our vehicle and equipment replacement and purchase plan. Therefore the shortfall becomes greater with every year passing. Apart from the normal rescue pumpers and ambulances that need

constant replacement, the most significant and critical equipment is perhaps a Bambi bucket for wildfire fighting, a hazmat unit, a rescue salvage unit, an all-rounder and an incident command vehicle.” The ultimate vehicle, according to CFO Kapia, should there be no budget constraints, is, “An all-rounder with multiple usage capabilities but with the current shortage, I would rather concentrate on the long list on my vehicle purchase plan, which includes the following vehicles: • 4x4 rough terrain wildfire units with minimum 3 000l tank capacity • Industrial tankers • 4x4 urban rescue pumpers • Incident command vehicle • 4x4 rapid intervention vehicles for informal dwelling fires • Ambulances both for normal and mass casualty incidents • Rescue/salvage vehicles • Hazmat unit” Staff complement Windhoek Emergency Management has a staff complement of 149, which includes 20 officers, 97 operational fire fighters, five logistical staff members, seven kitchen staff members and 20 work hands. “All operational fire fighters are trained in all areas of competencies,” said Kapia. “We have nine female staff members: six of which are operational fire fighters, two are station officers, one sub-officer and one non-uniformed staff member.” The shift strength per station is: Headquarters - 39 Otjomuise Station - 21 Diaz Station - 18 Maxuilili Station - 19

A training exercise on the hot ground 40 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Volume 3 | No 7

Fire service

Assistant chief Carlo Louw and CFO Raymond Kapia in the eating hall In reply to the question whether the service has enough staff to cope with Windhoek’s incidents, Chief Kapia said, “No, our new structure was approved in 2007 with the aim to render effective and efficient services in line with our strategy. However, only 47 percent of the positions on the approved structure are currently filled. This situation creates added pressure on the current staff and slows down training and development plans.” Recruitment policy Windhoek Emergency Management has a strict recruitment policy and the mandatory qualifications for fire fighters in training include a Grade 12 Secondary School qualification with 25 points; a pass mark in biology, science and mathematics as well as an ‘E’ symbol in English or a Fire Fighter 1 Certificate obtained through a recognised/accredited training institute, and/or an equivalent to the mentioned qualification obtaining through a recognised/accredited training institute as well as an Emergency Care Practitioner Basic (ECP-Basic) qualification registered with the Allied Health Profession Council. Legal requirements include being a Namibian citizen with proof of citizenship and a valid Code B or BE drivers licence. Candidates have to pass three tests ie a maximal aerobic fitness test, a candidate physical ability test (CPAT) and a phobia test, which includes confined space, height and water tests, a 10 minute water tread test with life jacket attach to a bi-line. They also have to pass a full medical examination and a verbal interview. Volume 3 | No 7

Fitness is of the utmost importance

Training The City of Windhoek Emergency Management training centre program is designed to offer a wide range of fire fighting, hazmat, vehicle rescue and extrication, workplace safety programmes ie first aid and basic fire fighting as well as emergency medical courses to most importantly members of the CoWEM division, emergency services officers from Local Authority and Town Councils, The City of Windhoek as an organisation and public and private institutions. This annual program makes provision for short courses with the duration of one week to long term courses that run over five months. The frequency of training presented is daily from Monday to Friday during work hours 07h30 to 16h30. Training can also be provided during weekends to on-duty shifts. Fire fighters undergo continual competency/proficiency training and assessments as part of their ongoing development. This inhouse training is facilitated by the supervisors of the respective sections in collaboration with the training instructors. The training section is still in charge of all in-house training and coordination thereof. Specialised training is outsourced to relevant institutions in the country or some to neighbouring countries, especially to South Africa. This includes training such as advance fire prevention, fire investigation, hazmat technicians, incident command and the BTech Degree in pre-hospital care. Fire safety The fire safety division has various strategies in place to create fire

safety awareness in our communities. Programs such as awareness campaigns in different settlement area whereby target the general public as our audiences. The school programs target the primary school pupils, as they convey the fire safety message to the parents and other relatives. There is also distribution of fire safety brochures and posters to the general public, schools and information and customer service centres. The fire safety program also includes fire safety presentations to institutions, the business community and companies and forms part of the strategy of awareness creation. This division furthermore educates architects and building developers as to the legal requirements for fire protection on building plans and during site inspections. “There are several challenges faced by the fire safety division,” said Kapia, “but the biggest being the availability of resources and staff capacity to achieve our objective of making the city fire resilient. The increase in development makes it difficult for the fire safety enforcement to cope with the demand.” There is no fire protection association in the Namibia. Chief Kapia concluded in saying that, “the service is fortunate to have excellent past fire chiefs such as Chief Ben Theron as role models and that the Windhoek Department of Community Services is very supportive of the Emergency Management division.” FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 41

Fire service: CFO profile

Dedication and discipline motivates chief directed operational personnel to reduce loss of life and damage to property by ensuring implementation of safe working practices and procedures on shift during all emergency incidents.

he City of Windhoek Fire Department is headed up by Chief Fire Officer Raymond Kapia. Chief Kapia has been the Chief: Emergency Management for the City of Windhoek since January 2008. A first generation fire fighter, Chief Kapia has 21 years continious service. When asked what made him become a fire fighter, Chief Kapia said, “Actually, I am more of a technical person and found the attributes of being a fire fighter interesting. Furthermore, I always wanted to have a job that makes a difference in the community.” We asked Chief Kapia what factors kept him in the fire service through the years, “Due to my hard work and urge to learn more, I was allowed to grow as a proffesional. From an organisation point of view, I received a lot of support,” he added. He started in the fire service as a junior fireman in May 1994. “Under guidance, I performed operational functions of the service as determined by Fire Act in order to save lives and property and render humanitarian services,” stated CFO Kapia. “In March 1999, I became a fireman and in October 1999, I was promoted to platoon officer: operations, a first line supervisory rank with responsibilities to command an entire shift. He took command and 42 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

In August 2002, CFO Kapia became station officer: training and his responsibilities included coordination and conducting fire, rescue and medical training to staff members. He also monitored operational performance and coordinated with the operational section to provide inhouse competency training. His areas of specialisation included fire fighter 1, emergency care practitioner basic and intermediate courses, first aid A and B, control room, fire extinguisher, turntable ladder, pumper operator, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), rescue and extrication etc. He became the section head: support and logistics in January 2004 and managed the section to provide services and administrative support systems to all divisional components, which included human resources procurement, budgeting, facilities, transportation, equipment and building maintenance, fuelling, feeding, communications, responder fire fighting and medical and rescue services. CFO Kapia also became a member of the radio communication committee within the City of Windhoek and a member of the regional road safety forum. In January 2008, Kapia was promoted to Chief: Emergency Management for the City of Windhoek and the overall commander and manager of the division. Over and above his duties as chief, he is also a task team member for the implementation of the City of Windhoek’s performance management system; a member of the technical advisory committee on disaster and emergency risk management for the Ministry of Urban Planning and Rural Development and the vice president of the Namibia Emergency Services Institute (NESI).

Mentors “My former station officer and training instructor, Ben Theron, provided all the guidance and shaped me to become the proffesional I am today. He was a strict disciplinarian who led by example at all levels of competence. At management level, my predesessor, Chief Giovanni Schoeman, who was also my direct supervisor, was equally instrumental in my growth at management level until his retirement in 2006,” recalled Kapia. When asked at which point in his career did he realise that his ambition was to become CFO, Kapia said, “As a section head when I was regularly appointed acting chief during the CFO’s absence. It assisted me to learn and gain confidance that gave me a sense of belief that I can do the job, if given a chance.” The biggest influence on his career thus far has been his attitude towards the proffession.” I still believe this is the best and most important proffesion in society.” Management style Chief Kapia descibed his manaegemnt style as a “collective leadership style with the understanding that the buck stops with me.” We asked CFO Kapia that if he could mentor a fire fighter or future fire chief, what advice he would give, he said, “I will tell him to study very hard and at least get a degree in our field of study.” His advice to fellow CFOs include, “Well, my advice will be to stay ahead with the developments in the new and modern world without compromising on discipline.” “Practice, practice, practice makes perfect,” said CFO Kapia during the interview. “A also belive that ideas must come from the bottom up. Our operational fire fighters are the ones who use the equipment and attend the incidents.” Volume 3 | No 7

Training centre profile

eThekwini Metro Fire and Emergency Services’ Training Centre

Burn building, drill tower and streetscape under construction

Thekwini Metro Fire and Emergency Services is currently constructing a stateof-the-art training facility at its Illovo Training Academy, situated at Illovo on the South Coast, about 30km from Durban Central Fire Station.

complete with chemical unit, rescue pumper, PIER unit and similar, a three storey ‘burn’-building and proposed facilities for confined space rescue, trench rescue, urban search and rescue (USAR), motor vehicle extrication and hazardous materials (hazmat) training.

Training manager for eThekwini Metro Fire and Emergency Services, Alex Gloster, gave Fire and Rescue International a tour of the facilities still under construction.

Training was originally, as Durban Fire Department, conducted at brigade headquarters. As the area developed, the impacts of training activities saw these functions moved to Jacobs Fire Station on Solomon Mahlangu Drive. With the development of the metropolitan fire service, the training functions were moved to Lower Illovo (2 Liberty Way) and efforts have, and continue to be, invested in developing a formal facility at that location.

Gloster explained that the operational area of the new site covers some eight hectares. It has an administrative footprint providing for offices and administration and which allows for future developments of proposed lecture auditorium, parking and student accommodation. Current capacity and efforts to extend capacity include a steel drill tower, some 2 500m2 of ‘hot’ground complete with a control tower, some 400 000 litres of recycled water complete with pumps, sand-oil-andgrease (SOG) filter and microbial filters, five ‘dirty’ classrooms to accommodate approximately 100 students, five ‘clean’ lecture rooms to accommodate some 100 students, a four-bay appliance bay Volume 3 | No 7

The new site was originally the Illovo Sugar-and-Syrup mill, built by CGSmith. Illovo constructed a syrup mill to the immediate west of the original site, accommodated the sugar processing at other Illovo sites and razed the original site almost entirely to the ground. The remaining buildings were taken over by the then South Local Council and used to accommodate a variety of offices and functions. These included

vehicle impoundment, town planning, town engineers and similar. Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) was run out of one of the buildings and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) utilised a volume of space in the general elections. Space became available as the ABET training became more centralised and other functions relocated. The fire service occupied initially one and then several offices and

Alex Gloster

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 43

Training centre profile the training academy represents some 100 years of training and development experience, with over 200 years of fire service involvement. Their expertise is principally in fire, rescue and hazardous materials, with various specialisations in related aspects of the job.

Appliance bays, lecture rooms and support facilities conducted training in the open areas. Since then, all other functions other than the fire services have vacated the site, which has reverted to fire service ownership and has, in turn, allowed for investment and developments through massive support by the eThekwini Metro Council. The site is located towards the southernmost boundary of the eThekwini Metro Area and enjoys full Environmental Impact Approval from the Provincial Environmental Authorities. “The training centre has yet to be formally opened by the city. This in part stems from the moves made to various sites and the currently incomplete construction and development efforts underway. It is hoped that the formal opening will coincide with the passing out parade of a learnership program – hopefully towards the end of this calendar year,” added Gloster.

curriculum will be greatly enhanced once the centre’s construction phase is complete and the various specialised training facilities are effected. Training centre manager and instructors Gloster, who is the training manager for eThekwini Metro Fire and Emergency Services since 2009, started his career as a volunteer for two years before accepting a full-time appointment in 1992. He has been employed in various positions in the local authority fire services ever since, with a brief departure to the risk assessment industry. The nine training staff of the Fire and Emergency Services at Illovo Training Academy are all registered and accredited as facilitators, assessors and moderators. Accumulatively,

Approximately 250 candidates have attended the sixteen week program to date, both as learners and as external customers at the request of their employers. Further, some 8 000 internal candidates have attended the academy for courses and assessments, ranging from half day sessions through to three-week courses and a number of external customers for half day through to four-day courses. The number for these courses is expected to increase noticeably with the finalisation of the current development efforts. Off-site lectures and educationand information-sharing interactions are limited and not included above. There is comfortable capacity for 60 to 70 candidates per year on the 16-week whole-time NFPA1001 Fire Fighter 1 and 2 program at a preferred maximum of 30 candidates per course. Simultaneously, there are some 1 500 candidates per year engaged in a variety of training programs, assessments and refresher programs that pass through the academy. These are principally internal staff, to address the internal training, development and progression requirements. Going forward, the training academy will also be able to

Accreditation The centre currently enjoys both Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA) and Southern African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI) and in turn International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) approval. The reaccreditation audit of the centre by SAESI was scheduled for April 2015. Curriculum Currently training courses are essentially internal courses, unit standard or nonunit standard aligned and SAESI-IFSAC accredited courses. ‘Generic’ training is run through the offices of the eThekwini Metro Skills Development Unit (SDU). The 44 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Hot ground under development Volume 3 | No 7

Training centre profile

Before accommodate up to 2 000 external commercial students attending basic courses required by their employers. Learnership programs are aimed specifically at the unemployed, unemployable ie no marketable skills, youth aged between 18 to 35 years of South Africa. Therefore the learner is typically young, often school-leaver males or females needing access to skills opportunities for onward development into careers and participation in the economically active segment of society, with a desire to engage in community-oriented occupations. At eThekwini Metro Fire and Emergency Services, learner-recruitment and learner-employment are, intentionally, completely separate processes and functions. Recruitment is generally aimed at learners engaged through the Skills Development Unit Outreach Programs, which take the form of learnership programs, currently against SAQA57803. Those candidates that prove successful against the recruitmentand-testing requirements and pass the 16-week program covering theory, practical and related considerations progress to the experiential learning component of the program. They may, at that time, apply against any position advertised by eThekwini Metro Fire and Emergency Services or any other employer. The employment process for eThekwini Metro Fire and Emergency Services is run through the offices of the operations manager (deputy chief fire officer). Successful candidates within eThekwini would be ‘placed’ in terms of organisational need. Any candidate that may not be employed by eThekwini will enjoy the support of the training branch and the skills development unit to assist with placement but there is no Volume 3 | No 7

After promise of employment or placement. Local authorities, designated services and major industries with industrial fire teams are consulted prior to recruitment programs in an effort to assess regional needs to reasonably safeguard against significant overpopulation of the skills base. This is to prevent learners from developing expectations of possible employment that might not materialise, to try to prevent the attrition of learned knowledge and skills through non-use and to ensure that there is no fruitless or wasteful expenditure on programs that might otherwise not have the desired effects of imparting employable, needed, skills. The current program is run against the outcome requirements of SAQA57803, previously as a qualification and now being structured as a Skills Program, which in turn is modelled on the NFPA1001 suite of courses – specifically Fire Fighter 1, Hazmat Awareness, Fire Fighter 2 and Hazmat Operations. The First Aid – Medical training component is undertaken by an external provider. “Training is purely for the purposes of imparting life-saving skills, afforded by dedicated trainers with a background of operational experience. There is no profit motive behind the training academy, with training costs based on covering operating costs for the course/s. The high quality of training is necessitated by the severity of the risks associated with this industry and the need to educate for the greatest possible eradication of these risks and the best possible preparedness and protection of candidates and their communities - at work or home through the training. Of course the same applies, with possibly greater intensity, to the professional fire service staff that

attend the academy and are tasked with the protection of the people, infrastructure and environments within the eThekwini Metro area and beyond,” stated Gloster. “It cannot be overemphasised that, without the massive support enjoyed from the eThekwini Metro Council and the numerous and varied offices and departments therein, that the development of the training academy could not have been possible and underscores their emphasis on protection of the communities and visitors, livelihoods and lifestyles of those within the eThekwini Metro area through the provision of life-saving services and reasonable access to lifesaving training opportunities. Without the dedication and committed efforts of the training staff, these efforts and education-programs could not be realised,” concluded Gloster.

Drill tower and streetscape under construction FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 45

Incident command

Incident Command: Lessons Learned Conference held in Thailand By Reinard Geldenhuys, chief fire officer, Overberg District Municipality

he Incident Command Lessons Learned Conference presented and facilitated by US Agency for International Development (USAID) took place in Ayutthaya, Thailand, from 25 to 27 February 2015. The South African Incident Command System (ICS) Work Group nominated Fred Favard and Reinard Geldenhuys to attend the conference on behalf of South Africa. Favard addressed the plenary session on day one and Geldenhuys served on the panel highlighting challenges and solutions on day two.

1. Share lessons learned, challenges, and best practices in adapting and operationalising the incident command system (ICS) 2. Develop recommendations for integrating ICS into national and regional disaster management systems 3. Provide an opportunity for

networking among disaster management practitioners

The objectives were managed by a well organised programme drawing out key lessons and challenges from participants through a series of plenary sessions, workgroups and group session where interactions between the different countries were expertly facilitated. Discussions during the second and third day group discussions focused around the theme of the conference based on the model in the diagram. Groups rotated each having a turn to address the different principles and challenges ie foundation of ICS, training, institutionalisation and operationalisation.

Participants included counties from the South East Asian countries as well as countries like India, Australia and the US. As fitting for an ICS conference there were clear conference objectives:

The following key concepts came out of the discussions:

Foundation

Training

Institutionalisation

Operationalisation

• Initial training: provide basic understanding of system, get buy-in from key officials • Involve mix of agencies ministries, NGOs/CSOs, private businesses, land managers, universities • Testing of system on small scale to determine what works, what needs to be adapted • System adaptation • Clarification of ICS role in broader disaster management system, command vs. coordination • National legislation and policies • Allocated budget for training, operationalisation

• Use existing training institutions and academies to save money • Get participants away from their normal day to day jobs to improve focus • Make training enjoyable and fun • Develop qualification and certification system • Include on the job learning and mentoring process • Promote linkages to “Operationalisation Pillar” (Use ICS for events, small incidents, exercises) • Don’t let ICS sit on the shelf!

• Legal Recognition • Alignment • Champions • Experts • Earmarked Budgets • Knowledge repositories • Linkages and Clearance System • ICS training for high ranking officials, Civil Service officers, national training academy • Practitioner lever Champions • Academic Institutions Interactions and Interface • Incentivize • Events: involved influential persons • Rationale sustainable Long-term approaches

• Contextualise and adopt and adapt ICS • Interoperability between humanitarian clusters and ICS • Development of policy and key documents • Senior Official training, buy-in and trust • Qualification based system • Resource Management • Agreements • Authorities • SOPs • Qualification • Succession Planning • Exercising vs on-scene • Rapid response mechanism • Surge Capacity

ie adaptive to current issues such as climate change

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TRAINING

Breathing apparatus management

Developing procedures for the use of breathing apparatus By Etienne du Toit, Deputy Director: Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government

A thorough risk management plan will greatly reduce the likelihood of injury

recently received a request from a fire service to provide them with a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the use of breathing apparatus. Subsequent discussions revealed a lack of understanding of the entire risk assessment process. Standard operating procedures are merely a component of a far bigger process. This article merely seeks to provide a broad overview of the process by linking it to relevant legislation, codes of practice and best practice. It goes without say that proficiency gained through training as well as a high level of fitness are prerequisites for any person engaging breathing apparatus operation. Legal and regulatory framework Act no 85 of 1993: Occupational Health and Safety Act as amended by the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act, No 181 of

In overall perspective it was clear that different countries used different methodologies to implement the incident command system as we know it in their countries. Bearing in mind that counties like Indonesia, which is considered the laboratory where natural disasters are made, deal with disasters on a regular basis both natural and manmade like rebel insurrections and civil strife are still struggling to get it right. The question, however, is what is ‘right’ and this was the crux of 48 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

1993 provides for the health and safety of persons in connection with the use of plant and machinery; protection of persons other than persons at work against hazards to health and safety arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work; to establish an advisory council for occupational health and safety; and to provide for matters connected therewith. The Act applies to all activities of public fire and rescue services as the employers of fire and rescue personnel. These health and safety duties are not regarded as absolute and are qualified by the test of what is reasonably practicable. The Act, therefore, does not require all risks to be eliminated and indeed recognises that, even when all reasonably practicable precautions have been taken

the conference. Through formal interaction and networking it became abundantly clear there is no ‘right way or wrong way’. There is just a goal to get it implemented. Some countries followed the top down route and got ICS written into legislation and although it is now a must, some still struggle to get it correct on ground level. Others did the same as we did in South Africa following the bottom up approach and they, like us, have achieved successes and setbacks.

to deal with foreseeable risks, harm could still occur. This may be referred to as the residual risk. It also recognises that both the employer as well as the employee has responsibilities towards health and safety. NFPA 1500 recognises that fire fighters operate in a dynamic and potentially hazardous environment. They operate at incidents that may involve fire, chemicals, biological hazards, radiation and several others. Breathing apparatus enables fire fighters to breathe safely in otherwise hostile atmospheres. Its use is one of the risk control measures likely to be employed within the overall operational plan for incidents involving fire and hazardous materials. Some incidents may require a higher level of protection ie fully encapsulating entry suit.

The question most want answered: how do we compare: South Africa is well advanced and ahead of many other countries with regards to the progress made and with the ICS Work Group now formally accepted as a National Disaster Management Advisory Forum sub work group/committee, we have probably drawn further ahead of some of the conference participants. However, in the legislation and enforcement side we are far behind. So the debate originating at the conference will carry on, what is the best? The carrot or the stick? Volume 3 | No 7

Breathing apparatus management Personal protective equipment, which includes breathing apparatus, should only be used where other control measures are not able to ensure the safety of fire fighters so far as is reasonably practicable. Personal protective equipment, where deployed, should form part of an overall safe system of work. It is recognised that there are circumstances where breathing apparatus will provide the key risk control measure. It is also accepted that there may be other measures, such as ventilation that may be applied simultaneously to reduce the risk even further. This article seeks to provide clarity on how to apply risk assessment as contemplated in both the Act as well as SANS 10090 through FPA 1500 to develop a safe system of work for command and control in the use of breathing apparatus. It hopefully also provides for a consistency of approach across various services, forms the basis for common standard operational procedures. Breathing apparatus command and control procedures represent just one of the suite of safe systems established within any operational risk management plan involving any of the hazardous scenarios, listed above, that are likely to be encountered by fire fighters. Therefore, most generic risk assessments are considered relevant to a greater or lesser extent in this context.

support and inform the development of individual fire service’s incidentspecific risk assessments. This is typically the NFPA 1500 as adopted through SANS 10090:2003: Community protection against fire. This level, together with the provisions of the Act determines the need for formal and very specific procedures. Level 2: Strategic risk assessment Generic risk assessments cannot be applied directly to the activities of an individual fire service. By definition they are ‘generic’. In themselves, they do not satisfy the individual fire service’s legal requirement for conducting a suitable and sufficient assessment of foreseeable risk within their authority area. This is also the level at which organisation policy is set and specific standard operating procedures generated. Although all levels are inter dependent, this is the level where the risk assessment as contemplated in the Act is performed. Level 3: Dynamic/incident risk assessment Dynamic/incident risk assessment is the process by which, as the nominated competent person, an incident commander will identify the hazards and risks faced by those in attendance at a tactical level of an operational incident or scheduled drill/training exercise. At emergency incidents, these will always be

informed by the priorities of incident command, namely: • Life safety • Incident stabilisation • Property and environmental preservation Standard operating procedures and/ or guidelines are crucial at this level. Training opportunities for the incident commander should integrate risk management into the regular functions of incident command. Risk assessment at this level will determine the tactics to be used. Level 4: Individual risk assessment In most cases, operational incidents are dealt with by fire fighters working alongside and under the direct supervision of their line managers. However, the use of Breathing Apparatus might often entail that wearers are required to work remotely at task level and make decisions for themselves, when incident risk assessment will only have been able to take account of incident hazards and risks that are reasonable to expect, foresee or be aware of. At this level, the fire fighter assumes responsibility for his/her decisions. According to the United Kingdom Department of Communities and Local Government: Fire and Rescue Authority-Operational guidance for Breathing Apparatus, there is

Risk assessment process The four levels, sometimes referred to as pillars, of operational risk assessment. Adapted from “United Kingdom Department of Communities and Local Government: Fire and Rescue Authority - Operational guidance for Breathing Apparatus” and aligned to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993, Department of Labour, Republic of South Africa. Level 1: Generic risk assessment Generic risk assessments are nationally or in South Africa’s case, internationally produced guidance where the fire service shares the experiences gained at operational incidents. They provide hazard, risk and control measures information to Volume 3 | No 7

The fundamental skills acquired through training and a high level of fitness are prerequisites FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 49

Breathing apparatus management another layer of risk assessment, one designed to inform personal safety in circumstances where unsupervised fire fighters may encounter an unexpected or unforeseen situation.

6. Operations at emergency incidents 7. Operations at non-emergency incidents 8. Other related activities

Individual risk assessment is the process of maintaining situational awareness (SA), identifying hazards and assessing risk in order to inform and influence the risk taking behaviour and actions of fire fighters when they encounter these conditions, often under punishing and life threatening circumstances. The term ‘calculated risk’ becomes very relevant at both tactical and task levels. In these cases the appetite to tolerate risk may increase if there is a lot to be gained, for example, fire fighters may enter a burning building if lives may be saved. A similar incident may call for a completely defensive approach if no lives are at stake.

A thorough risk management plan will greatly reduce the likelihood of injury. Risk management should focus on two main components: risk assessment and risk control. The assessment should be used to identify known or potential hazards. Risk control calls for a closer look at these hazards and then identifies how they could negatively impact the department. Each hazard should be assigned a risk level. The risk level is based on the hazard’s probability of occurrence, the severity of the consequences and the potential level of exposure. Risk control measures must be adopted when the level of risk is determined to be unacceptable. Risk factors to examine may include the department’s jurisdiction, the population serviced and the organisation’s personnel. Analyse each risk factor and develop a mitigation plan.

It is clear that all levels of the organisation have equal responsibility when it comes to the safe use of breathing apparatus. The need for a risk management plan Although this article focused on risk management in the context of breathing apparatus, the organisational risk management plan shall at least cover the risks associated with the following: 1. Administration 2. Facilities 3. Training 4. Vehicle operations, both emergency and non-emergency 5. Protective clothing and equipment

Developing a risk management plan Developing a plan should begin with the selection of a risk management committee. This is based on the assumption that a documented health and safety policy is in place. This function could potentially be assigned to the health and safety committee as contemplated in the Act, provided that the members are well versed and experienced in all aspects of fire service operations.

Diagram 1: The four levels of risk assessment. 50 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

The committee is usually composed of individuals charged with overseeing riskprone areas. The committee should meet on a regular basis to discuss concerns based on each member’s area of responsibility. Meetings can be used to evaluate and determine organisational goals, voice concerns and revise previous solutions or processes. The risk management plan should be a written document that has been adopted by the fire service and distributed to members with responsibilities outlined in the plan. The risk management plan should apply to all aspects of a fire services operations and activities, including emergency operations and should be communicated throughout the organisation. This process should have the following outcomes: 1. Policy document 2. Documented risk assessment 3. Meeting schedule, including minutes and action items 4. Standard operating procedures for the command and control of breathing apparatus The above will form part of the total risk management plan. The absence of one or more of any of the above elements may be interpreted as being in contravention of certain provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993-Department of Labour, Republic of South Africa. Recent tragic events involving South African fire fighters whilst wearing breathing apparatus, as well as preceding ‘near miss’ incidents, again emphasise the importance of risk assessment in the fire service. References 1. Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993-Department of Labour, Republic of South Africa. 2. SANS 10090:2003 Edition 3 Community protection against fire Standards South Africa. 3. Understanding and Implementing Standards, NFPA 1500, 1720 and 1851, National Fire Protection Association. 4. United Kingdom Department of Communities and Local Government: Fire and Rescue Authority - Operational guidance for Breathing Apparatus. Volume 3 | No 7

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Fire safety

Western Cape fire prevention campaign: Fire is everyone’s fight By Rodney Eksteen, Assistant Director: Fire Brigade Services, Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government with matches and lighters and the need for parental involvement in curbing the needless deaths and injuries so often caused by this hazardous behaviour.

S E R V I C E S

B.E.S.A.F.E Basic Emergencies, Safety And Fire Education Emergency Numbers | Landline: 10177 | Cell: 112 | www.westerncape.gov.za

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Western Cape rolls out ‘Fire is everyone’s fight’ fire prevention campaign

2014/08/18 01:05:16 PM

he Western Cape Government, Disaster Management, Fire and Rescue Services recently initiated the roll out of an innovative fire prevention campaign called ‘Fire is Everyone’s Fight’. Social media fire safety messages using the Mxit platform and a radio advert were developed to kick the campaign off. The key message illustrated the dangers of children playing

Experience from a number of countries indicates that fire related injuries are not random but predictable events that are preventable and that fire prevention strategies can and do work. Over the past 10 to 20 years, many industrialised countries have reduced their fire related injury and death rates, some by as much as half. These reductions can be attributed to concerted and sustained prevention efforts, often initiated by Government as part of a national strategy or programme. The Fire is Everyone’s Fight approach The approach of the ‘Fire is Everyone’s Fight’ campaign emphasises collective action with cooperative efforts from various sectors such as the fire and rescue services, disaster management, environmental management agencies, health, education, social services, volunteer groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The approach further emphasises prevention; its starting point is that fires can be prevented and everyone has a role to play in ensuring that they are prevented.

S E R V I C E S

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The collaboration recognises the power of partnership as a critical means of marketing and delivering accurate and consistent fire safety messages into the community. This will be accomplished using a number of strategies, such as sharing information, joint development of targeted messaging and implementing multi-level behaviour modification interventions. The fire prevention campaign will use a wide range of resources to communicate the importance of taking action to protect ourselves and the people we love from the dangers of fire. By leveraging the fire prevention campaign, resources, supporting dissemination or advertising efforts, and encouraging private and government agencies to join the initiative, the fire safety community can present a consistent, repetitive message. This content messaging will help diverse members of our society personalise and take action to reduce their own personal risk of fire. This includes support for public service announcement placements, educational outreach to community organisations, local media relations activities and much more.

S E R V I C E S

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Fire safety Objectives of the fire prevention campaign It is the objective of the Fire is Everyone’s Fight campaign to create a new social norm, such as: fires can be prevented and we all have a role to play in ensuring that they are prevented. The theme is intended to be an easily understood and memorable phrase that encompasses a range of potential actions we can take to prevent fires or mitigate loss if they occur. The theme will be used on all prevention materials so that it becomes highly recognisable over time and when people see or hear it, they immediately think of actions they can take to make their homes fire safe. The specific objectives include: • Reducing fire injury related deaths in informal settlements • Reducing property loss from wildland/veld fire • Reducing residential fire loss Accomplishing these objectives will take a concerted effort by fire departments, government agencies, non-profit organisations, private companies, and communities across the province. This plan requires a wide range of approaches that will help partners and stakeholders understand that fire is everyone’s fight and the actions we can take to protect ourselves, the people we care about and our homes. Timeline for implementation A multi-level staggered approach to reducing home fires and their consequences has been developed. The WC Fire and Rescue Services will act

as a catalyst and convener, bringing together individuals and organisations who want to play a role and have the resources to do so. It is envisaged that the roll out of this campaign will be implemented over a five year period. Resources and interventions The fire prevention campaign will have a strong online presence that will enable organisations and the public to refer to and download key campaign information. Essential intervention resources and tools are being developed and packaged for distribution to the various role players. The goal is to implement a mix of multilevel interventions that will help reduce risk at the local level through prevention and mitigation. Every disaster is local and personal, and being prepared is both an individual and collective responsibility. Prevention has to be a part of the public consciousness; automatically applied, regularly practiced and always respected. The fire prevention campaign is a national model and advocate for local, provincial and national activities that develop, promote, enforce and reward awareness, preparedness and prevention. The ‘Fire is Everyone’s Fight’ educator’s toolkit The Fire is Everyone’s Fight toolkit is a collection of resources that we hope will be of use to many of the organisations, agencies and individuals working to address the fire and burn prevention in the Western Cape, particularly those engaged at the community-level.

S E R V I C E S

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The focus of the toolkit is on community awareness using the early childhood development (ECD) centres as a delivery system. The focus is on preventing fire and burns rather than response or treatment, reflecting the WC Disaster Management and Fire and Rescue Services aim of promoting communitybased risk reduction initiatives. Most of the resources are targeted at people without specialist training. However, we advise all users of the toolkit to complete the community risk reduction course presented by qualified trainers from the WC Disaster Management and Fire and Rescue Service. As the fight to prevent fires and the associated injuries in the Western Cape continues, so more educational resources are being produced. We hope to continue updating and improving the toolkit and would appreciate your help in identifying additional resources to include. We would also very much like to hear about your experience of using the toolkit and any recommendations you have as to how we might improve it. For further information or to get involved contact Rodney Eksteen, Western Cape Fire and Rescue Services, email: rodney.eksteen@westerncape.gov.za. The poster, booklets and presentations are available for download on the Western Cape Government’s website: wwwwesterncape.gov.za and Fire and Rescue International’s website: www.fireandrescue.co.

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Disaster search dogs

Disaster search dogs in South Africa By Neels de Klerk, station commander: fire safety, Breede Valley Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management Services

re we really up there with the best in the world if we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t comply fully with international standards? Although there were several teams deployed to international disasters over the last couple of years, these teams did not have the luxury of having trained disaster search dogs (DSDs) deployed as part of their resources capability.

rubble pile during a disaster is also a specialist function as far as experience of these types of incidents and the rescue work related is concerned. The focused bark alert, what a dog does when it finds live human sent, is also the only internationally recognised alert that DSDs should be giving to the handler. The DSD is trained to find live human scent and it must be an unmistakably alerted on. The success of any live find by an urban search and rescue (USAR) team is hugely depended on the K9 team working with them.

With local natural disasters and building collapses on the increase annually, the need for specialised DSDs within the fire service in South Africa has become an essential tool that can no longer be ignored. It is important that decision makers plan and commit budgets to make this happen and to ensure the success of developing national standards that align with international standards like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standard for DSDs in the United States.

The first time dogs were trained in SA was in 2009 when a partnership between members from City of Johannesburg EMS and K9 Search and Rescue Association (K9 SARA) South Africa were formed to train DSDs ready for the 2010 soccer world cup. The K9SARA was the only organisation at the time that was training dogs to search for only live persons and was a valuable partner in assisting with the desired outcomes of this partnership. The teams consisted of 3 privately owned dogs from COJEMS and four dogs from K9SARA and they were trained to comply with the FEMA Type 2 qualification standard.

History in South Africa The K9 search and rescue (K9SAR) function has always been seen as a South African Police Service (SAPS) function and therefore it was seen that there was no need for developing this resource within the fire service. The SAPS K9 SAR units are also air scenting dogs and is trained to find life and cadaver scent but does not discriminate between the two. Being a handler on a

The permanent solution This however was only a temporary solution as after the 2010 world cup this resource declined as no need was identified to keep this project alive. The recent increase in incidents involving collapse structures, floods and high winds proves that DSD teams are a necessity in the fire service in South Africa. How many times have we heard that some resources in the fire service are

Altridge Matthee with Lacey during a training exercise

A light commercial vehicle converted to transport the K9s

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Fire fighter/K9-handler Altridge Matthee with Lacey Volume 3 | No 7

HIB

ITION•

CONF

EVEN

How we do it? The team follows a general progression of training steps, always with the final goal in mind, finding the victim. Since each dog and handler is different, and each team works differently together, the training plan is always modified to fit the needs of the team. The process of training the disaster search dog can take anywhere from six months to two years, depending on the skill of the handler, the drive of the dog, and the amount of time the team can devote to training. Ever heard the joke: “why is the badge on the front door of a dog unit vehicle,…so that the handler knows where to get in”? Although dogs are usually independent in spirit and know their jobs well, a lot of time is spend on training the handler in skills and knowledge regarding the behaviour of dogs and their abilities. It takes a well-trained handler to manage the dog’s search and ensure that the dog is able to work in the most effective manner possible. Also, since disaster search is an inherently dangerous process, handlers must learn how to assess scene safety in order to minimise the risk to themselves and their dogs.

E•

What makes dogs irreplaceable? A German Shepherd has 220 million receptor cells where humans have only five million. Despite the different technological advances in various fields there have been no successes to develop something that can imitate a dog’s nose. This means that one dog does the work of about 40 persons and is obviously much more effective because of his scenting abilities. Search dogs have proven to be consistently useful in locating victims trapped beneath debris, mud and water. Their acute scenting ability allows a trained dog to detect and alert on human scent traveling through crevices and voids, as well as at the surface of water and mud.

not necessary because of the lack of the number of incidents requiring that specific resource? That was then proven the wrong decision when an incident occur and the resource is not available.

S SAE

2015

‘Building resilient communities’

SAESI presents its 30th CONFERENCE•EXHIBITION•TRAINING EVENTS to facilitate inter-agency engagement to build resilient communities. 1 to 6 November 2015 | Expo Centre, Nasrec, Johannesburg www.saesi2015.com

BE A DELEGATE AT THE CONFERENCE: The SAESI 2015 Conference will address the theme from three basic pillars: • Education • Risk management • Societal security BE AN EXHIBITOR AT THE EXHIBITION BE A VISITOR AT THE EXHIBITION: Following on the five yearly Interschutz Exhibitions in Hannover, Germany, exhibitors will be displaying as well as demonstrating the latest technology available. BE A PARTICIPANT IN THE TRAINING EVENTS: • Fire Raiders vehicle extrication • High Angle • STAT EMS • SA Emergency Care Fireﬁghter Rescue Challenge

For more info and registration forms visit:

www.saesi2015.com TALK TO US

Mari 011-579-4940 / 082-418-3349 / mari@interactmedia.co.za Facebook: SAESIonline | Twitter: @SAESIOnline Lacey, a three-year old crossbreed Border Collie x Jack Russell Volume 3 | No 7

ORGANISER:

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Wildfires

So, who is responsible for managing wildfires in the urban interface? By Zane Erasmus, independent environmental consultant appropriate to refer to the veld and urban interface (VUI) when referring to residential areas that border on open veld in South Africa.

Part 1

Earlier literature, that addressed the growing concern about wild veldfires in developed areas in the Western Cape, made reference to an “urban fringe” that aptly described the veld/ residential interface as a fringe.

Are news headlines a product of sensation seeking media or is it a perception fuelled by social networking?

“D

evastating wildfires destroy homes and thousands of hectares of veld”, the headlines scream. Is this scenario becoming more frequent? Are these headlines a product of sensation seeking media or is it simply a perception fuelled by active social networking? It is difficult to say but what we do know is that wildfires certainly are becoming more frequent. Perhaps, Twitter and Facebook have enabled the public to spread news more rapidly and maybe the printed media have become more efficient at publishing wildfire stories that tend to make headlines more often. Climate change, though, is a fact and increased annual temperatures have impacted on the occurrence and spread of wildfires. At the same time, we have seen a growth of urban populations within areas prone to wildfires. It could thus be a combination of factors like these that has led to an increase, perceived or otherwise, of wildfires within the veld/urban interface. An ‘urban’ area is any area that is populated in any way by people. A wildfire urban interface may therefore be defined as any area where

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homes or structures are constructed alongside, near or within an area that is exposed to wildfires. Strictly speaking, an urban interface is not really an ‘area’ or ‘place’; it is a set of conditions that could apply in any wildfire-prone environment. These conditions may apply to an entire residential area or may only include three or four homes. These conditions exist throughout the world and are obviously not unique to South Africa. What is quite unique, however, is the terminology used to describe the fire environment in each country. Many overseas countries refer to the wildland urban interface (WUI), where ‘wildland’ refers to any land that is undeveloped or cultivated in any way. In the United States, for instance, a definition for the WUI would be “the area where houses and wildland vegetation coincide”. In South Africa, the term ‘wildland’ is not used extensively because we use the term ‘veld’ to describe land that is not built-up or inhabited. Indeed, the National Act administering veld fires is the National Veld and Forest Fire Act (101 of 1998) (NVFFA). It is thus

The VUIs found in South Africa are almost as varied as the vegetation, topography and climate types found throughout the country itself. Aside from the obvious biophysical diversity, there is a vast variation in the social, cultural and economic aspects that influence our communities and inevitably the type of construction that takes place in fire prone environments. VUIs will be found in all fire prone environments in South Africa, whether, agricultural, forestry or conservation land is involved. Fire managers, however, need to be aware of two distinctions. Firstly, urban interfaces may be rural or metropolitan. Rural urban interfaces are found in the country where isolated communities are exposed to wildfires almost every fire season. These may include small villages in the grasslands of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal or villages in the open Savannahs of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. They are mostly isolated and do not have ready access to resources. Small communities generally survive on subsistence farming and are very often impoverished areas. Metropolitan urban interfaces are found in the densely populated towns and cities throughout the country. Access to fire fighting resources is usually transposed against the large populations that can sometimes impact on the neighbouring natural areas. Fire ignitions can be more Volume 3 | No 7

Wildfires frequent but access is generally good. The social history of South Africa has also seen the development of urban interfaces along economic lines. For instance, very wealthy developments take place in fire prone areas. These may include retirement homes, golf courses, tourist camps and recreational areas. Many developers are attracted to these areas because of the dense vegetation but seldom take veldfire risk into consideration in their development plans. While access to resources is not generally a problem, there is in these areas often a reliance on the fire brigades, or other authorities, to provide fire management services. Rapid population growth and the migration of people to metropolitan areas have seen the growth of vast ‘informal settlements’, usually on the outskirts of towns. This has created VUIs along the metropolitan and natural veld areas. These informal settlements, in many cases, do not have services like electricity and are reliant on open fires for warmth and cooking thus increasing the risk of wildfire ignitions. Urban interface situations, as described above, exist in every fire protection association (FPA) registered South Africa. The challenges faced by veldfire managers, who are used to working within the parameters set by season, topography, climate, weather, vegetation and fuel loads, is intensified when an urban interface is included. Veldfires in an urban environment, however, present a whole range of considerations that are quite unique to the veldfire manager.

The most important objective in the VUI is to ensure the safety of the community Firstly, there are people living and working in the area who are affected by the occurrence of veldfires. Secondly, the presence of structures within the area also present a range of issues not normally confronted in the conventional veldfire scenario. In addition, and most significantly perhaps, urban interfaces as a rule occur along boundaries situated between several different landowners. It is apparent thus that veldfire managers wishing to manage veldfires safely and efficiently within the urban interface would require additional management skills to manage these veldfires. All managers know that you cannot manage anything without a management plan in place. Veldfires are no different and ‘managers’ need to know what to do, where to

Metropolitan urban interfaces are found in the densely populated towns and cities throughout the country Volume 3 | No 7

do it, when to do it and how to do it. Trying to manage veldfires without a management plan in place is like playing the proverbial game of football without any rules - or goals. Playing without these in place will lead to a fair amount of confusion, and certainly no goals will be achieved. The most important objectives or goals in the VUI, is to ensure the safety of the community in the event of a wild veldfire. At the same time you would want to protect structures and reduce the incidence of wild veldfires spreading from the VUI into the open veld, or indeed, from the veld into the VUI. These goals and a multitude of secondary objectives can only be achieved in terms of an integrated veldfire management plan (IVMP). An IVMP, as the name implies, incorporates all landowners and stakeholders involved in the management of the urban interface. At the same time, it integrates all the activities that are essential to sound veldfire management practice. In other words, veldfire management is not only about veldfire fighting but includes all essential fire management activities such as for instance, fire prevention, fire protection, research, training, inspection, detection and so forth. In the next publication, we will look at IVMPs in more detail. Publisher’s note: FRI uses the term wildfires in its articles for the benefit of its international readership and continuity. FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 57

Rescue roundup

The silo mentality By Neville Van Rensburg, provincial rescue and disaster coordinator, Western Cape Emergency Services commercial cereals, cracked wheat, cereal beverages and coffee substitutes. Beverages are made from wheat products: beer, ale, root beer, instant chocolate drink mixes, as is whole wheat, enriched- or white bread, bread rolls or bread crumbs, crackers or gluten bread, doughnuts, sweet rolls, muffins, French toast, waffles, pancakes, dumplings, bread stuffing, rusks, prepared mixes for pancakes, waffles, biscuits, breads and rolls, macaroni and other pasta products.

silo, from the Greek σιρός - siros, “pit for holding grain”, is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store grain or fermented feed known as silage. Silos are more commonly used for bulk storage of grain. The brain consists mainly of connective paths, which conduct nerve signals between the brain and the rest of the body.

silo were it is stored and treated with chemicals to protect against insects. As long as the wheat grain is in the silo and treated with chemicals, it is of no use to man. Once it has been taken out and prepared, it can be used for bulgar, wheat germ, wheat bran, wheat berry,

Our brain acts like this silo and our thoughts and stimuli represent the grain in the silo, which can be likened to a cold cement or metal silo where it is closed in a confined space, constantly poisoned with negative feelings or ideas. We then become this grain in the silo, which has, if poisoned by negative impacts/influences, will be of no benefit to us nor other people or communities. We will become reactive instead of proactive people. In today’s life, we see more and more negative images of role models who disappoint their community. What is a silo person?

In 2012, I was involved in the rescue of a person, where a silo collapsed and the grain trapped one person underneath massive tons of grain. Two days after the incident, as I passed Malmesbury in the Western Cape, South Africa, on the N7 where the rescue took place, I realised that if things get too much for us, the same thing happens to us and we lose control and become negative or experience depression or stress. To explain the silo concept: our brain is the silo and the wheat grain, our attitude, perceptions, feelings, thoughts and mind-set, as well as our moods. After wheat has been harvested from a field, it is taken to a 58 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Figure 1. Volume 3 | No 7

Rescue roundup Figure 1. illustrates how our thoughts just move around in circles and stay inside the silo creating a negative, reactive environment. The top lid is still on and nothing positive will emanate from this silo. No positive outside influence is able to penetrate. In this silo state, no person will be proactive. These people believe that the world owes them something. These silo people will only do what is asked of them and will only be followers because they have to and won’t do more. They enjoy playing the blame game for anything that goes wrong. Their minds are poisoned with negativity just like the grain in the silo, the negativity is confined. They are not accountable for anything, do not want to take responsibility and are not open to any positive criticism. Silo people tend to complain about their work all day and tell everyone that they want to leave. They will gossip and complain about their salaries, forgetting that they get a salary, have a car and a house to sleep in. It is so sad. They are so reactive that they believe themselves and don’t realise that they have a job and forget that there are so many others that will give anything to get employment; so many who can’t feed their families. We can all make our own decisions. It’s your choice what you want to do. If you don’t like something, you can make a decision to change it. We have choices. It’s also important that these silo people realise that if they are not happy in their work, they can move on to find another job. The following statement is not applicable to all people but is interesting: Reactive people, experiencing such a negative silo mentality are not able to contribute to developmental and technological growth. New employees and young people that join a company or service want to learn and better themselves, while some older staff stagnate, never advancing their prospects. When change takes place they want to complain and resist any suggested improvement in their work place. If things are not beneficial to their own Volume 3 | No 7

Figure 2.

Figure 3. interests, they will be reactive. When a position becomes available and they don’t qualify and a younger person is appointed, it is someone else’s fault rather than their own. All things start with ourselves; our moods and thinking. We can control it; we have power over our own thoughts. There is a saying: The qualities of the five people closest to you or with whom you spend the most time with, is conducive to how you will be in your life. So, if they are negative people, you will become negative. A negative attitude is also high on the list of these silo people. They also develop a tendency to dwell only on their weaknesses instead of their strengths.

The silo Jika Next we will take a look at the ‘Jika’ of our Silos. ‘Jika’ is a word that’s been used that means turn around. Figure 2. makes it clear that changes start taking place, as with grain in a silo where they start processing it in preparation for human consumption. We can clearly see that the top lid is still closed but the outside force is starting to create positive thinking and is conducive to positive changes taking place. With the second part of our silo mentality, we will see that in this way proactive as well as positive lives and attitudes are caused. These will be people who enjoy their lives and are FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 59

Rescue roundup • Patience • Dignity • Respect • Enjoying life

Figure 4. not afraid to take on challenges. They will not see everything as obstacles but rather as challenges that would enhance their lives. They are also prepared to accept and adapt to changes and challenges. They will also see were they can help to find solutions and help to make it happen. They would be motivated team players. Life is also important to them and they would realise that life is a once-off opportunity on earth and that how they deal with it is important. They also believe that to gain respect you need to earn it, so one needs to respect others so that they will repect you. The silo Jika in action Figure 3. shows very clearly that the top lid is off; no more negative thoughts moving around in a closed, confined space. We also see in this schematic that everything starts to flow upwards and out of this closed environment. This is the process of Jika (turn around). In this process people will: • Trust others • Be honest • Not blame others or their current situations • Will be responsible • Will be positive at all times • Will be motivated • Will explore • Will be respectful • Will be professional

See the difference that can be made from grain that has come out of the confined, cold silo and that would otherwise have been lying there with no positive use. A leader’s Jika silo If we look again at our Silo; if we open the lid and let our negative thought get out such as the grain to make food, we will see the following positive changes affecting our lives. In Figure 4. we can see all the Jika processes taking place. So what will we get out this: • Relationship with friends • Relationship with management • Continual learning • Good communications • Listening skills • Positive attitude • Openness

Summary We can choose our own path for our work and personal life. Don’t let your emotions and thoughts become trapped like grain that is stored in a confined and cold environment. When one is negative, you trap yourself. Look back and ask yourself what you have done with your life until now. If you are a negative person, ask yourself why? What can I do to turn it around? Life on earth is short, so make every day, your day. Remember you can choose how you want to feel and where you want to go. You are the captain of your ship, nobody else is. When wheat grows, it is nice and green but as it becomes ready for harvest, the colour changes to a light brown. It is the same with us. We are not born negative but are as beautiful and green as the wheat while it’s growing. With time, our experiences and thoughts about these experiences change us into negative and reactive people, trapped in a silo of emotions. Our thoughts become a light brown colour and our harvest, bitter. Life is more than that. Every morning when we get up, we have a new day of living, so why spoil it to by being negative? Remember that most people who are positive, avoid negative people and that is generally why negative people are so lonely.

So when this happens it is as if we take the grain out of a silo and use it to make food that people want to use and buy. 60 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Volume 3 | No 7

AfrikaBurn 2015

Managing fire safety for large outdoor events: The AfrikaBurn 2015 experience By Rob Erasmus, Enviro Wildfire Services

The burning of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Metamorphisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

ombining radical selfreliance and expression with safety at a fire-theme event in a remote setting in the Northern Cape poses its own unique set of challenges. AfrikaBurn is one such example where extensive behind the scenes management endeavours to provide a safe environment for the 10 000 people attending this experience.

The lines relating to fire safety can become somewhat blurred when one mixes regulations with self-reliance and responsibility. As an example, those attending the event are required to bring all their own food, water and energy (gas for cooking and petrol for generators). As no casual driving around with private vehicles is permitted, bulk supplies of gas and fuels are stockpiled Volume 3 | No 7

The Enviro Wildfire ops team and fire crew

Photo: Berend Maarsingh

Afrikaburn is a week-long, communitybased arts festival in the Tankwa Karoo desert. Participants volunteer to create costumes, performances, vehicles, artworks, theme camps, music and much more. The event in its ninth year is guided by 11 principles, namely communal effort, participation, civic responsibility, immediacy, decommodification, gifting, leaving no trace, radical inclusion, radical selfreliance, radical self-expression and each one teach one. There is generally no fighting, no mess, no judging, no complaining, no negativity and no money ie nothing is for sale, except ice.

Artworks and colours at sunset FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 61

AfrikaBurn 2015

Extensive ember fall-out during the burning of ‘The Clan’

Extinguishing perimeter coals after the collapsing of a burnt artwork within high-density camping areas where open flames are abundant. This was one of the serious concerns. Having been involved with the previous event in 2014, Enviro Wildfire (aka Tankwa Fire and Rescue for the duration of the event) were able to submit proposals to management with the view to reducing the fire and other risks for the 2015 event. The constructive and positive response allowed numerous initiatives to be implemented including the establishment of a fuel dump on the outskirts of ‘Tankwa Town’ where excess fuels (campers, artworks, aviation, and management) were stockpiled and delivered as and where required. The effort to manage this was minimal when compared to the 62 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

benefit of removing such flammable liquids from within the occupied area. The fire team consisted of three teams of three members each, working shifts on a rotational basis. Two skid units were on hand 24/7, while an additional multi-purpose light duty vehicle (LDV) served to collect/deliver fuels, transport water supplies for the skids, act as a third skid unit where required and was a general back-up vehicle in times of need. A rapid response quad bike, fitted with fire extinguishers and knapsack spray tanks, was also on hand throughout the event. Additional equipment included high volume water pumps, bulk water supplies, foam units, heat-detecting devices and over 500m of lay-flat fire fighting hose.

The concept of ‘early detection, rapid response’ was implemented whereby all event personnel ie security, rangers, medics, logistics crew, etc were aware of the need to report any suspicious or unplanned fire to the venue operations centre (VOC) that was manned 24/7 during the height of the event. This ensured that the fire team was made aware of all possible unwanted fires as soon as they started and while there were a few ‘false alarms with good intent’, those that did pose a threat were quickly dealt with before it became a problem. Bearing in mind that the size of the area covered by the event is approximately 1,2km x 1,4km, the early detection and rapid response approach was important. To further ensure avoidance of confusion and duplication of roles in the case of a serious incident occurring, standard operating procedures (SOPs) were developed for various scenarios, including fire, flooding, structure collapse and aviation accidents. Additional fire safety-related functions consisted of ad hoc visits to camp sites to advise on general fire safety, providing input in the planning and implementation of the big burns, hosing down tents in the areas where ember fall-out occurred, extinguishing burning embers on the perimeter of the collapsed burning artworks and the monitoring of unattended camp fires especially during the early hours of the morning. The 2015 event has been regarded as a success in that no unwanted fires caused damage, structures affected by ember fall-out were quickly irrigated and response time of the fire teams for call-outs was less than 90 seconds. Proposals for next year’s event include a fire look-out tower, increased public awareness of the storage of excess fuels, additional SOPs and calculated placement of artworks to reduce possible ember fall-out damage to tented structures. It has been demonstrated at events such as AfrikaBurn that with proper planning and use of suitable staff and resources, low to high risk outdoor events can safely be undertaken. It comes down to 90 percent planning and preparation and 10 percent action if required. Volume 3 | No 7

Leadership

Empowerment

By Wayne Bailey

he ability to empower others is one of the keys to personal and professional success. John Craig said, “No matter how much work you can do, no matter how engaging your personality may be, you will not advance far in business if you cannot work through others.” When you become an empowerer, you certainly work with and through people but you also do much more. Simply defined, empowering is giving your influence to others for the purpose of personal and organisational growth. It’s seeing the potential of others and sharing your influence, position, power and opportunities with others with the purpose of investing in the lives of others so that they can function at their best. The acts of empowering others can changes lives forever. When you empower, everybody wins. When you empower, you give away your authority. It has the same effect as sharing information. You haven’t lost anything. You’ve increased the ability of others without decreasing yourself. The same as if you empower your 18-year old child to pick up his brother or sister from school instead of you doing it, you have given your authority to the 18-year old to act on your behalf. In the fire service, empowering others is important. According to Asnat Greenberg, author of Secrets of Kindness, empowering others is one of the most important acts of kindness one can do for his fellow man. She said, “Empowering others means not criticising them, not judging them, not being cynical towards them. Empowering others means praising the struggling student in the class on his or her progress, no matter how small, curbing your ego, connecting to the best elements that lie within you, giving them the feeling that they are loved, smiling at these Volume 3 | No 7

people, inquiring about their wellbeing, thanking them for the services they provide and wishing them a good day; being happy for them and praising them on their accomplishments or in any way possible. Empowering others means identifying with them, smiling when someone else approaches and makes the world a better place. It’s also contagious and requires little effort on your behalf. When you give away your influence or authority, you haven’t lost anything. You’re actually duplicating yourself and allowing others to continue once you’ve retired and moved on. Kimberly Alyn said “True empowerment must include a strong leadership foundation that includes the willingness to train, develop and mentor others in the responsibility that comes with that empowerment. Many leaders are too lazy or too busy to engage in that process. They understand the need for empowerment but do not fully invest in the entire process of creating the balance between empowerment and responsibility.” The strong leadership Alyn is speaking about is when you empower others, you do it responsibly. If I empowered my apparatus driver to be responsible of a multi-million dollar budget, would that be responsible? No. Remember what is given away, can be taken back. Here is an example Alyn wrote about. A fire fighter in one particular department abused the empowerment he was afforded and needed to be disciplined. The union stepped forward and fought his discipline tooth and nail. The fire fighter and the union were subsequently surprised when management pulled back the empowerment. Surprised? When we empower ourselves, we empower others. When you become an empowerer, you work with and through other people. You

Wayne Bailey give away your influence in order to grow the organisation. When you believe in others to carry the touch to the next level, you’re giving you influence away for others to grow in influence. Recently I was reading a paper “To change the world or to rule it: Applying transformational leadership theory” (Kupietz 2010). He said an issue of leadership in the fire service is the preparation of subordinates to be leaders. Empowerment of the employee

The acts of empowering others can changes lives forever FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 63

Heritage

The history of fire hose

ire hose is an invaluable tool for fire fighting and has undergone dramatic changes over the centuries. Called hoose, hoase, hause or hose, it played a part in fighting fire as early as 400BC. In this era, the hose was made out of ox gut. Firemen filled bags with water and then forced them into the ox gut. The water was forced out of these early hoses by either sitting or stomping on the bag and the hose. In 1673, two Dutchmen, Jan van der Heiden and his son Nicolaas, developed fire ‘hoase’. These 15-metre lengths of leather tubes were sewn together the way shoemakers made boots. This hose was attached to the gooseneck nozzles on early engines, enabling fire fighters to get closer to the fire

goes a long way towards this goal. A more self-actualised individual is a more productive team member and a more functional team is more effective at accomplishing the goals placed before them. This situation is where transformational leadership theory really comes into play. The theory can be used to empower subordinates to help their organisations by growing not only in the position they currently hold but also by beginning to prepare for future leadership (Cochran, 2006). Captain X, like so many fire officers, was never given that opportunity; but the cycle of solitary leadership could be broken and a new approach of empowerment could start with Captain X. Homrig (2001) states that an important aspect of a good leader is to mentor subordinates to become good future leaders. This aspect is an important issue in the fire service. We must prepare future leaders to assume leadership positions and ensure these new leaders will have the tools needed to advance the profession. 64 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

and shoot a stream of water at it more accurately. Van der Heiden is also credited with inventing an early version of suction hose. Until about 1800, water for fighting fires came from wells, cisterns and natural bodies of water. When water main services came into existence, fireplugs or hydrants were added to give fire companies access to the water. In 1803, the Philadelphia Hose Company was founded. Arriving at their first fire, they astonished their fellow fire fighters.... Collins quotes: “The new hose company quickly attached their leather hose to the hydrant and stretched it right up to the burning building. A nozzle was attached to the hose and water gushed through the line.” A foreman

Empowering others means you establish what is expected or the outcome. If no boundaries are given, you may not get the results you were looking for. Theodore Roosevelt put it this way, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” If you meddle with the process, some people say it’s micro-management. If you read number four of the 16 ‘Fire Fighter Life Safety Initiatives’, it says ”All fire fighters must be empowered to stop unsafe practices.” While this may appear to be a challenging or even controversial statement, it simply means that every organisation should provide an environment that allows its members to speak up regarding personal and organisational safety; without negative consequences for doing so (within a prescribed context) and without decentralising the authority of the formal leader. The resources needed for all fire service organisations to institute Initiative

of a fire company came up to Ruben Haines, the hose company foreman and adamantly demanded Haines divert the water to the engine where it would then be directed onto the fire. Haines refused, he saw no reason to send the water from the hydrant to the engine first. Sewn leather hoses often leaked badly and broke under pressure. In 1807, two members of the Philadelphia Hose Company, James Sellers and Abraham Pennock revolutionised fire hose when they developed a way to rivet leather strips together. The hoses were made of the thickest and best rear-quarter cowhides and were nearly leakproof, except at the couplings. The riveted hoses were 12 to 15 metres in length and had metal couplings. It weighed about 39 kilograms.

number four, regardless of type or size, are already at our disposal and the best part is that they are free. The goal is to have every member fully engaged during an emergency incident with a focus on doing the work in a proficient manner and looking out for one-another to avoid injuries and potential line of duty death.” In this instance, empowerment is if you see something wrong, you have the duty to speak up without negative consequences. In some departments, a rookie is expected to keep his or her mouth shut if they see or feel something is wrong on the fire scene. I would hope you, the reader, would work towards everyone looking out for each other. One other example is empowering your engineer (driver) not to move the apparatus until everyone is buckled in with a seat belt. By giving your authority as a leader to this driver, you are empowering him with your authority, therefore providing additional safety guidelines in place where ‘Everyone Goes Home’. Volume 3 | No 7

Heritage Leather hose required heavy maintenance. It was necessary to wash, dry and preserve it. One fire company washed theirs in a coffin. Some used codfish and whale oil as preservatives. Many other stations used warm beef tallow and Neat’s foot oil (made from cattle bones) and would work it into the leather. However, after applying the tallow and oil, the heat of a fire caused the hose to smell and become sticky. One station stored their hose in a dillpickle barrel but many others used horizontal racks to store theirs. Sellers and Pennock’s advancement with hose had far reaching consequences. With strong hose, it was possible to use suction to draw large quantities of water. The idea of using suction was considered in the United States as early as 1698. New York City had a suction engine in 1793. But without reliable hose, using suction to fight fires was very ineffective. The improvement in hose also permitted pumpers to relay water from distant sources. In Boston, in 1825, the mayor reported 30 metres of hose doing the work that formerly required 60 men hauling buckets. Around 1827, the fire chief for New York City counted 30 pumpers in a line a mile and a half long from the source of water to the fire. In 1821, James Boyd patented his invention for rubber-lined, cottonwebbed fire hose. Charles Goodyear discovered the vulcanisation process for rubber in 1839. BF Goodrich developed rubber hose reinforced with cotton ply. The Cincinnati Fire Department used this improved hose in 1871.

The moonlight fire hose is an illuminating fire hose that was developed at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Lakehurst, USA. The revolutionary fire hose can assist a lost and disoriented fire fighter to quickly locate the hose providing a lifeline to the outside. The hose would be ideal for use aboard ships and boats due to their maze-like configurations in very dark and close quarters

steam fire engines.” Other companies improved hose as well. In a short time, fire hose could handle 350 psi. Progress continued and woven cotton became the standard for fire hose. As better weaves were developed the hose became stronger. In this modern age fire hose is lightweight, durable and flexible. Although we now have an array of hose, it would be interesting to see what improvements will be developed in the future.

References Collins, Donald. Our Volunteer Firemen, 1736-1882. Ephrata, PA: Science Press, 1982. Ditzel, Paul C Fire Engines, Fire fighters: the Men, Equipment, and Machines, from Colonial Days to the Present. New York: Crown, 1976. Hashagen, Paul. “The Development of Fire Hose.” Firehouse Magazine: September 1998. Smith, Dennis. Dennis Smith’s History of Fire fighting in America: 300 years. New York: Dial, 1978.

Five years later in 1878, the American Fire Hose Manufacturing Company, located in Chelsea, Massachusetts, marketed their new product, the “first seamless cotton fire hose produced for Volume 3 | No 7

Photo: US Navy

As more manufacturers entered the marketplace, they each produced their own size of hose and coupling. This problem was addressed in 1873 at the first convention for the International Association of Fire Engineers. The association adopted the standard size of 7 102 threads to the inch. In the 1800s hoses were mainly made of leather. Rivets had been introduced allowing for higher water pressures and better delivery of water, although they required a lot of maintenance to prevent the leather from drying out and cracking and thereby bursting from the water pressure

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 65

What’s on?

2015 June 1 – 5 June 2015 FPASA Confederation of Fire Protection Association’s (CFPA) certificate in principles of fire safety engineering course The course covers the application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings Venue: FPASA College, 105 Springbok Road, Bartlett, Boksburg, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618 email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 1 June 2015 ATA International 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: ATA Fourways , Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Melissa Tilma Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: melissa.tilma@ ata-international.com 1 June 2015 ATA International 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: ATA - International Training Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia Contact: Theresa Foster Tel: 0264 61 302 931 Email: theresa@ ata-international.com.na 2 - 3 June 2015 ATA International Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Candidates will be competent to recognise and initiate the management of cardiac arrest and peri-arrest conditions. Venue: ATA Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Melissa Tilma Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: melissa.tilma@ ata-international.com 2 – 3 June 2015 ATA International - 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: ATA - International Training Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia Contact: Theresa Foster Tel: 0264 61 302 931 Email: theresa@ ata-international.com.na 4 – 7 June 2015 National Search and Rescue Conference SARCON2015 is a multifaceted exposition featuring instructional tracks and trade-show that caters exclusively to decision-makers and SAR professionals involved in all aspects of search and rescue. Venue: Estes Park, Colorado, USA For more information visit: mtrescueassoc.blogspot.com/?m=0

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8 - 9 June 2015 ATA International 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: ATA Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Melissa Tilma Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: melissa.tilma@ ata-international.com 8 - 12 June 2015 FPASA Fire prevention and safety strategies This course covers the theory of fire, legislation, use of extinguishers, flammable liquids and gases, hot work, fire hazards of electrical equipment and automatic fire detection systems, the organisation and management of fire teams and occupational fire brigades. Venue: Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618/9 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 8 - 13 June 2015 Interschutz 2015 Originally conceived as a trade show for the fire services, Interschutz has grown to become the world’s leading exhibition for fire prevention, disaster relief, rescue and safety and security. Venue: Hanover, Germany For more information visit: www.interschutz.de/home 8 - 13 June 2015 Toughest Fire Fighter Alive 2015 The 2015 Toughest Fire Fighter Alive (TFA) competition will take place at Interschutz as part of the world championships Venue: Hanover, Germany For more information visit: www.interschutz.de/home 16 - 18 June 2015 IFSEC International This event will focus specifically on leading global technology, solutions, knowledge and the latest innovations Venue: ExCel, London, UK For more information visit: www.ifsec.co.uk/ 16 - 18 June 2015 FIREX International This event offers fire and security professionals access to leading global technology, solutions and knowledge to ensure life safety Venue: ExCel, London, UK For more information visit: www.firex.co.uk/ 16 - 20 June 2015 Thermprocess 2015 Trade fair and seminar Venue: Messeplatz, Germany For more information visit: www.thermprocess-online.com/ 17 - 20 June 2015 NYSAFC 109th Annual Conference and FIRE 2015 Expo Over 300 exhibitors displaying the latest apparatus, tools, equipment, and services available. 10 diverse and intensive handson training programs conducted by some of the America’s most seasoned fire service instructors Venue: Verona, New York, USA For more information visit: www.nysfirechiefs.com

18 June 2015 SAEC Basic fire/fire marshall SAEC Training courses run by SA Emergency Care Venue: Modderfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa Contact: Nicole Vermaak Tel: 011 608 0907 18 – 19 June 2015 Sasol Secunda Chemicals Operations Emergency Management Training Resuscitation training for vessel entries course Sasol reserves the right to cancel courses without notice due to reasons beyond control Venue: Sasol Secunda, South Africa Contact: Isabel Email: isabel.dejongh@sasol.com 20 – 21 June 2015 ATA International - 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: ATA Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Melissa Tilma Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: melissa.tilma@ ata-international.com 20- 25 June 2015 NFPA conference and expo This conference and expo are the year’s largest event for the fire protection, life safety and electrical, widely regarded as the most comprehensive event in the industry Venue: McCormick Place Convention Centre, Chicago, Illinois, USA For more information visit: www.nfpa.org/conference 22 June 2015 ECCSA lecture: Data management and data analysis in descriptive studies A lecture aimed at young researchers and clinicians (undergraduate and postgraduate) who have a passion for research in emergency care Venue: Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa For more information visit: ecssa.org.za 22 June – 3 July 2015 Sasol Secunda Chemicals Operations Emergency Management Training Wildland Fire Fighter 1 course Sasol reserves the right to cancel courses without notice due to reasons beyond control Venue: Sasol Secunda, South Africa Contact: Isabel Email: isabel.dejongh@sasol.com 22 – 26 June 2015 FPASA fundamentals of fire investigation Promotes a clear understanding of fire investigation and the rendering of opinion regarding origin and cause. This includes practical investigation exercises and is aligned with NFPA 921. Venue: 105 Springbok Road, Bartlett, Boksburg, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618/9 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za

July Volume 3 | No 7

4 - 5 July 2015 ATA International 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: ATA Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Melissa Tilma Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: melissa.tilma@ ata-international.com 6 – 31 July 2015 Sasol Secunda Chemicals Operations Emergency Management Training Hazmat Technician course Sasol reserves the right to cancel courses without notice due to reasons beyond control Venue: Sasol Secunda, South Africa Contact: Isabel Email: isabel.dejongh@sasol.com 6 - 8 July 2015 Land Forces Africa incorporating Disaster Management Africa Conference The conference provides an opportunity for organisations involved in military medical and disaster management to gather, share information and discuss past, present and future challenges Venue: Heartfelt Arena, Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria Contact: Stephan Herman Email: stephan.herman@ spintelligent.com 9 July 2015 SAEC Basic fire/fire marshall Training courses run by SA Emergency Care Venue: Modderfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa Contact: Nicole Vermaak Tel: 011 608 0907 10 July 2015 ATA International 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: ATA Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Melissa Tilma Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: melissa.tilma@ ata-international.com 11 - 12 July 2015 ATA International Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Candidates will be competent to recognize and initiate the management of cardiac arrest and peri-arrest conditions. Venue: ATA Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Melissa Tilma Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: melissa.tilma@ ata-international.com 13 July 2015 ATA International 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: ATA - International Training Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia Contact: Theresa Foster Tel: 0264 61 302 931 Email: theresa@ ata-international.com.na

Volume 3 | No 7

13 – 17 July 2015 FPASA Fire appliance reconditioning Course providing 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, Gauteng, 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 – 24 July 2015 FPASA Advanced fire prevention course Addresses fire risk management, fire safety legislation, suppression system, fire growth and development, means of escape, flammable liquids and gases, structural protection, business continuity and fire safety management. Venue: Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Contact: Christine van der Westhuizen Tel: 011 397 1618/9 Email: college@fpasa.co.za For more information visit: www.fpasa.co.za 14 July 2015 HELPEMT BLS for healthcare provider course 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: Boksburg, South Africa For more information visit: www.helpemt.co.za 14 – 15 July 2015 ATA International - 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: ATA - International Training Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia Contact: Theresa Foster Tel: 0264 61 302 931 Email: theresa@ ata-international.com.na 16 July 2015 HELPEMT BLS for healthcare provider course 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: Boksburg, South Africa For more information visit: www.helpemt.co.za 16 – 17 July 2015 Sasol Secunda chemicals operations emergency management training resuscitation training for vessel entries course Sasol reserves the right to cancel courses without notice due to reasons beyond control Venue: Sasol Secunda, South Africa Contact: Isabel Email: isabel.dejongh@sasol.com 19 - 23 July 2015 50th Annual GSSA Congress Advancing rangeland ecology and pasture management in Africa Venue: Royal Agricultural Showgrounds, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa For more information Email: info@grassland.org.za

20 - 24 July 2015 First aid level 3 training course SAEC Training course run by SA Emergency Care Venue: Modderfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa Contact: Nicole Vermaak Tel: 011 608 0907 21 - 22 July 2015 Risk conference Topics such as fire safety, financial risk, water crisis, mining risk, business risk, everyday risk, seismic events, dolomite & sinkholes, food security and infrastructure Venue: Gallagher Conference Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa Contact: Email: conference@dms-online.co.za 22 - 23 July 2015 ATA International Paediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Candidates will be able to perform a systematic approach to the assessment of a seriously ill or injured child, recognise and manage a child in respiratory distress and failure, compensated and hypotensive shock. Venue: ATA Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Melissa Tilma Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: melissa.tilma@ ata-international.com 23 - 24 July 2015 HELPEMT International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) course An intense 2-day learning experience dealing with the recognition and management of trauma and trauma associated syndromes. The course aims to teach an innovative and structured approach in managing victims of trauma Venue: Boksburg, South Africa For more information visit: www.helpemt.co.za 27 – 28 July 2015 ATA International - 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: ATA Fourways, Gauteng, South Africa Contact: Melissa Tilma Tel: 011 450 4981 Email: melissa.tilma@ ata-international.com 28 July 2015 HELPEMT BLS for healthcare provider course 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: Boksburg, South Africa For more information visit: www.helpemt.co.za 30 - 31 July 2015 HELPEMT Advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) course Participants will be able to apply a systematic and algorithm-based approach to the management of respiratory arrest, ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia, pulseless electrical activity and asystole, stable and unstable tachycardias and bradycardias Venue: Boksburg, South Africa For more information visit: www.helpemt.co.za

FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 67

Poem

“My Brother has fallen” My Brother has fallen; no, I don’t know his name. Have not the same parents still family all the same. He lives in this town, I live in another, It doesn’t really matter, ‘cause this guy is my Brother. My Brother I call him, though I’ve never seen his face. I have brothers and sisters all over the place! You see, I am a fire fighter and our families are one. Around the world, a brotherhood of unity, A closeness, a bond, most people don’t see. I’ll watch your back; she’ll watch mine “You go, I’ll go” time after time His family’s my family, my family theirs, We’re part of one family where everyone cares, I’ll look after your kids, please look in on my wife, Should that day finally come where I lay down my life. We dedicate our lives to helping our fellow man, Living day after day doing all that we can, Where ever we’re needed whether night time or day, To save life of another we’ll step in harm’s way. My Brother has fallen doing what he loved best, And among the honoured, he now stands with the rest For a mile in dress uniforms here everyone stands, For my Brother has fallen, God into your hands. By Unknown

68 | FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL

Volume 3 | No 7

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