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Western Cape MEC Bredell launches fire season, Cape Town
Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, MEC Anton Bredell, visited the Newlands Fire Base Station in Cape Town on Wednesday, 12 October 2022, to discuss preparations for the coming wildfire season with senior fire fighting officials. Wildfire season traditionally runs from November to May in the Western Cape.
Minister Bredell said the Province responds to more than 15 000 reports of fire outbreaks each year and this year the Department of Local Government will allocate R16 million towards fire fighting. Minister Bredell said he is proud of the excellent cooperation between the different fire fighting organisations who work together to manage wildfires. “We have a Memorandum of Understanding between all municipalities in the province, ensuring that when a wildfire occurs, the closest firefighting unit will immediately make resources available and can also call on other units for assistance. This means we can very quickly pool resources and focus on the task at hand”. Minister Bredell said the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre plays a crucial coordination role in this regard. “There are 30 fire fighting bases, as well as several volunteer fire fighting outfits in the Province. These organisations are staffed by more than 3 000 fire fighters who need to be coordinated, often at very short notice and under difficult and dangerous conditions.” According to Minister Bredell, the Western Cape Rapid Response Strategy, initiated in 2012, will again be implemented this year. This strategy is based on the premise that expensive aerial support should be made available sooner rather than later. “This strategy has resulted in a historic success rate of more than 90 percent fires being extinguished within the first hour of being reported. Yes, aerial support is expensive but it is much cheaper than the damage that might be caused by a runaway wildfire.” Western Cape Disaster Management Centre, in partnership with the City of Cape Town, Cape Winelands Municipality and SANParks, will have access to 24 aircraft and helicopters this season. “We are preparing for up to three aerial missions per day during the height of the summer,” Minister Bredell said. Minister Bredell said human behaviour remains the number one cause of wildfires. This is compounded by the proximity of human settlements and wilderness areas throughout the province. “CapeNature, our conservation entity in the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, reported that in 2021/22, only 26 percent of fires CapeNature responded to started from within CapeNature protected areas. These were mostly due to lightning strikes. In comparison, a total of 55 percent of fires were started by people, either through negligence or on purpose, 14 percent were started by mechanical means such as powerlines, trains or equipment such as chainsaws or brush cutters and five percent through prescribed burning practices.” Minister Bredell added that there is much that the public can do to help prevent wildfires: “Please be responsible with open fires, especially during warm and windy days, only using designated fireplaces and facilities and never leave a burning or smouldering fire or candle unattended. Fire safety practices also apply to our homes. This includes reducing the fuel load around buildings, clearing a defensible space around your home and ensuring water availability in case of an emergency.” Quote of the week “Good to great is determined by effort” ~ Chief Jim Grady III, Frankfort FPD Fire and Rescue International is your magazine. Read it, use it and share it! Download magazine PDFs: https://www.frimedia.org/fri-archives.html Read the magazines online: https://issuu.com/fireandrescueinternational Enjoy the read! Lee Raath-Brownie Managing director Cell: 082 371 0190 Contact us Tel: 011 452 3135 or Email: lee@fireandrescue.co Websites www.fireandrescue.co www.frimedia.org www.facebook.com/FireandRescueInternational www.twitter.com/FRI_magazine |
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