By Cecilia Mohlala
Badplass – Mpumalanga province has positioned itself to respond during fire season by putting 50 fire fighters through a course on wildfire prevention strategies.
The training, which took place in Badplaas earlier this week, is part of the Working on Fire (WoF) programme.
“The yellow card training is what we do annually. It is a refresher training to train fire fighters in the province on our mobilisation plan because they will move from their base to a central point.
“We test all the equipment needed in preparation for fire season,” WoF's provincial general manager Martin Bolton said.
Bolton said currently, they have 20 teams consisting of 25 fire fighters in the province, and they are kept as long as possible in the programme until they find other jobs and exit.
“The yellow card training is a poverty relief programme and we keep the fire fighters as long as possible and they only exit when they find better jobs,” he said.
Fire season is expected to start in May and end in October.
During the exercises, the trainees did an endurance test by running through plumes of smoke and a simulation of wildfire.
“These trainees need to know how to overcome fear and that is why they are prepared for the entrapment exercise, where they run through the fire,” said WoF ground operational manager Bongani Nhlabathi.
Hilton Sefoloshe (35) said the test run prepared them both physically and mentally.
“It was a good experience that included team cohesion and good communication. It was more important for this training as we were able to assist each other on other challenges," said Sefoloshe.
“We arrived on Sunday and started our activities on Monday morning with physical fitness evaluations. We are ready for the fire season and we don’t have any fears." – SAnews.gov.za
