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24 July 2026
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New recruits join the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service ranks
The City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service has officially welcomed 35 new junior firefighters into the fold. They completed the Fire Cadet training programme and were successful in applying for available vacancies. The group will be deployed to fire stations around the metropole. The new recruits join the ranks at a time when the Fire and Rescue Service is facing increasing demands on its resources. In 2018/19, Cape Town’s firefighters responded to 22 497 incidents in a year, including fires and special service calls (motor vehicle accidents, hazmat incidents, rescues etc.). In this most recent financial year (2025/26), the number of incidents was 30 513.
“That is a 36% increase in workload over the last seven years. Our city has grown in size, so the increase makes sense but our emergency services are also facing growing challenges due to changing weather patterns, as we’ve witnessed in recent years. Our new junior firefighters are a welcome addition to the team, and I wish them well but the annual statistics are a clear sign that they’ll have their work cut out for them,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
A comparative summary of key statistics is available here: https://bit.ly/3Ru7Sh9
Investment in the Fire and Rescue Service
In this financial year, the Fire and Rescue Service will spend more than R25 million on resource investments. This includes:
“We are incredibly proud of the service. The pressure is relentless but year after year, our firefighters deliver to keep Cape Town safe. We commend them for their continued dedication to the cause and we ask the public to support them by actively playing a role in fire prevention and mitigation and to protect our frontline workers when they respond in those times of need,” added Alderman Smith.
Source: Media Office, City of Cape Town
“That is a 36% increase in workload over the last seven years. Our city has grown in size, so the increase makes sense but our emergency services are also facing growing challenges due to changing weather patterns, as we’ve witnessed in recent years. Our new junior firefighters are a welcome addition to the team, and I wish them well but the annual statistics are a clear sign that they’ll have their work cut out for them,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
A comparative summary of key statistics is available here: https://bit.ly/3Ru7Sh9
Investment in the Fire and Rescue Service
In this financial year, the Fire and Rescue Service will spend more than R25 million on resource investments. This includes:
- R12 million in building improvements to Brooklyn and Constantia Fire Stations
- R5,75 million on additional specialised vehicles
- R5 million on minor building and fencing upgrades
- R3 million on the initial works at a new Fire Station in Langa
- R1,6 million on replacing firefighting equipment
“We are incredibly proud of the service. The pressure is relentless but year after year, our firefighters deliver to keep Cape Town safe. We commend them for their continued dedication to the cause and we ask the public to support them by actively playing a role in fire prevention and mitigation and to protect our frontline workers when they respond in those times of need,” added Alderman Smith.
Source: Media Office, City of Cape Town