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6 December 2024
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14th NMU Fire Management Symposium held in Karkloof, KwaZulu-Natal
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The Forestry Department (George Campus) of the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) held its 14th Fire Management Symposium from 6 to 8 November 2024 at the Halliwell Country Inn in Karkloof, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The symposium was hosted by in partnership with industry stakeholders. The theme of the symposium was "Educating and training for effective wildfire management". The symposium brought together fire managers, stakeholders and wildland fire management agencies from various sectors, including nature conservation, agriculture, fire services, fire protections associations, disaster management and forestry.
The event included a field day where participants visited a sugar cane farm in New Hanover where several demonstrations were conducted by various suppliers. This was followed by a visit to the KwaZulu-Natal Fire Protection Association’s airstrip and base in Shafton, where delegates could visit several industry exhibits. Fire and Rescue International was its official media partner.
PHOTO GALLERY
Presentations
Tiaan Pool, the HOD Forestry Department at NMU, welcomed all and shared the usual formalities.
Keynote speaker Dr Ronald Heath, director: Research and Protection at Forestry South Africa (FSA) discussed ‘Educating the nation: The effect of sound Fire management on the lives of South Africans’, in which he said that we need to acknowledge that sound fire management has significant positive effects on the lives of South Africans. Dr Heath added that proper fire management strategies are crucial in reducing the risk and severity of uncontrolled wildfires and are key to environmental management.”
International presenter, Bryan Yockers, the education and outreach facilitator with the Prairie Project in the USA, shared his presentation on ‘Agents of change: Enhancing student understanding of fire, herbivory and rangeland ecosystem services. The project targets the youth to teach values that will enable them to be agents for change when they grow up. He said that data shows that the interventions do make a difference.
The second day keynote address was by Rob Thompson of NCT Forestry Agricultural Cooperative Limited, who discussed the ‘Three key elements: surprise, anxiety and disturbance’, providing an overview of the recent NCT chip mill fire in Richard’s Bay.
Other presentations included Eric Stoch, chairman of the North West Umbrella Fire Protection Association (NWUFPA), who discussed “From the Tribal Council to the fireline: A revolutionary model for tribal and Khoi-San integration in fire safety, amongst various other pertinent fire management issues followed by Savage Breytenbach, manager of the Freestate Umbrella Fire Protection Association (FSUFPA), who presented on ‘Training and education in commercial farming communities.
The CEO of the South African Forestry Contractors Association (SAFCA), Roger Johnston, discussed the ‘Gaps and training/education needs of contractors in the forestry industry after which Stephen Devine of Firescape shared ‘An international view on future needs of veldfire training and education’.
Kishugu Aviation’s Frank Smook, shared a very insightful presentation on ‘Flight operations: Training the guardians of the sky, in which he detailed aerial firefighting techniques, followed by Thobi Mkhize, head of stakeholder management at Mondi, who discussed the ‘The importance of community engagement and fire awareness to offset unwanted fires in commercial plantations.
The Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa’s (FPASA) Marius Atterbury, presented on ‘Bridging the education and training gaps within local authorities regarding veldfires’ while the Kishugu Training Academy’s Jeanette Relling discussed ‘Future training and education needs for veldfire management’ and James Ballantyne of Kwamahlati Training Services shared in his presentation on ‘In the blink of an eye, everything can change; your legal rights and responsibilities and practical implementation of the requirements and regulations as per the OHS Act and lessons learned from recent incidents’.
Programme coordinator BSc Hons Forestry at NMU, Hannes van Zyl looked at ‘Problem based learning: A new teaching and learning strategy followed by Prof Tracy-Lynn, field professor of Environmental and Sustainability Law at the University of the Witwatersrand, who discussed ‘Wildfires in South Africa are set to increase: How legal action can help the country adapt better to climate change’.
NMU lecturer in Law Faculty/Natural Resource Management legislation, Advocate Glenwin Sefela , discussed, ‘Setting the veldfire scene: A reflective overview of the NV&FFA and the National Veldfire Act’, after which Laura Coetzee, director at Boabab Sentinel t/a Dryad Africa, shared the results of an ongoing project on ‘Ultra early fire detection through technology.
Sappi Mpumalanga fire manager, Hannes Vosloo, shared ‘Sappi fire management strategies and tactics in the Lowveld region followed by Matthew Danckwerts, wildfire forensic investigator/fire ecologist at MJ Danckwerts Consulting (Pty) Ltd, who discussed the ‘Reliability of fire pattern indicators used in wildfire investigations’.
Angel Goldsmith, PhD candidate at Kings College London Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, discussed ‘Mobilising social capital for fire risk reduction at South Africa’s wildland-urban interface followed by Kelvin Price, the managing director of CW Price and Co, who shared, ‘The latest developments in weather monitoring, highlighting the importance of weather station maintenance and cleaning.
Senior manager for conservation at Kruger National Park Skukuza, Navashni Govender, looked at ‘Char height as a robust and affordable post-fire proxy for fire intensity’ and the honorary president of Search and Rescue South Africa (SARZA), Col Ivor Rimmer, shared an overview of ‘SARZA, a volunteer search and rescue partner’.
Working on Fire’s managing director, Trevor Abrahams, shared some insights on the recently held Wildland Fire Canada Conference 2024 and provided a snapshot of its take home messages.
NMU’s Hannes van Zyl provided an overview of Day One’s presentations and Samukelisiwe Msweli on Day Two.
The above is just a brief overview of the presentations, which will be published in an indepth article in the Fire and Rescue International magazine.
Quote of the week
“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. ” ~ Douglas MacArthur
Fire and Rescue International is your magazine.
Read it, use it and share it!
Read the latest magazine: https://www.frimedia.org/fri-vol-7-no-4.html
FRI magazine archive: https://www.frimedia.org/fri-archives.html
Enjoy the read!
Lee Raath-Brownie
Managing director
Cell: 082 371 0190
Contact us
Tel: 011 452 3135 or Email: [email protected]
Websites
www.fireandrescue.co
www.frimedia.org
Facebook
www.facebook.com/FireandRescueInternational
Twitter
www.twitter.com/FRI_magazine
LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-raath-brownie-16668065/
The event included a field day where participants visited a sugar cane farm in New Hanover where several demonstrations were conducted by various suppliers. This was followed by a visit to the KwaZulu-Natal Fire Protection Association’s airstrip and base in Shafton, where delegates could visit several industry exhibits. Fire and Rescue International was its official media partner.
PHOTO GALLERY
Presentations
Tiaan Pool, the HOD Forestry Department at NMU, welcomed all and shared the usual formalities.
Keynote speaker Dr Ronald Heath, director: Research and Protection at Forestry South Africa (FSA) discussed ‘Educating the nation: The effect of sound Fire management on the lives of South Africans’, in which he said that we need to acknowledge that sound fire management has significant positive effects on the lives of South Africans. Dr Heath added that proper fire management strategies are crucial in reducing the risk and severity of uncontrolled wildfires and are key to environmental management.”
International presenter, Bryan Yockers, the education and outreach facilitator with the Prairie Project in the USA, shared his presentation on ‘Agents of change: Enhancing student understanding of fire, herbivory and rangeland ecosystem services. The project targets the youth to teach values that will enable them to be agents for change when they grow up. He said that data shows that the interventions do make a difference.
The second day keynote address was by Rob Thompson of NCT Forestry Agricultural Cooperative Limited, who discussed the ‘Three key elements: surprise, anxiety and disturbance’, providing an overview of the recent NCT chip mill fire in Richard’s Bay.
Other presentations included Eric Stoch, chairman of the North West Umbrella Fire Protection Association (NWUFPA), who discussed “From the Tribal Council to the fireline: A revolutionary model for tribal and Khoi-San integration in fire safety, amongst various other pertinent fire management issues followed by Savage Breytenbach, manager of the Freestate Umbrella Fire Protection Association (FSUFPA), who presented on ‘Training and education in commercial farming communities.
The CEO of the South African Forestry Contractors Association (SAFCA), Roger Johnston, discussed the ‘Gaps and training/education needs of contractors in the forestry industry after which Stephen Devine of Firescape shared ‘An international view on future needs of veldfire training and education’.
Kishugu Aviation’s Frank Smook, shared a very insightful presentation on ‘Flight operations: Training the guardians of the sky, in which he detailed aerial firefighting techniques, followed by Thobi Mkhize, head of stakeholder management at Mondi, who discussed the ‘The importance of community engagement and fire awareness to offset unwanted fires in commercial plantations.
The Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa’s (FPASA) Marius Atterbury, presented on ‘Bridging the education and training gaps within local authorities regarding veldfires’ while the Kishugu Training Academy’s Jeanette Relling discussed ‘Future training and education needs for veldfire management’ and James Ballantyne of Kwamahlati Training Services shared in his presentation on ‘In the blink of an eye, everything can change; your legal rights and responsibilities and practical implementation of the requirements and regulations as per the OHS Act and lessons learned from recent incidents’.
Programme coordinator BSc Hons Forestry at NMU, Hannes van Zyl looked at ‘Problem based learning: A new teaching and learning strategy followed by Prof Tracy-Lynn, field professor of Environmental and Sustainability Law at the University of the Witwatersrand, who discussed ‘Wildfires in South Africa are set to increase: How legal action can help the country adapt better to climate change’.
NMU lecturer in Law Faculty/Natural Resource Management legislation, Advocate Glenwin Sefela , discussed, ‘Setting the veldfire scene: A reflective overview of the NV&FFA and the National Veldfire Act’, after which Laura Coetzee, director at Boabab Sentinel t/a Dryad Africa, shared the results of an ongoing project on ‘Ultra early fire detection through technology.
Sappi Mpumalanga fire manager, Hannes Vosloo, shared ‘Sappi fire management strategies and tactics in the Lowveld region followed by Matthew Danckwerts, wildfire forensic investigator/fire ecologist at MJ Danckwerts Consulting (Pty) Ltd, who discussed the ‘Reliability of fire pattern indicators used in wildfire investigations’.
Angel Goldsmith, PhD candidate at Kings College London Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, discussed ‘Mobilising social capital for fire risk reduction at South Africa’s wildland-urban interface followed by Kelvin Price, the managing director of CW Price and Co, who shared, ‘The latest developments in weather monitoring, highlighting the importance of weather station maintenance and cleaning.
Senior manager for conservation at Kruger National Park Skukuza, Navashni Govender, looked at ‘Char height as a robust and affordable post-fire proxy for fire intensity’ and the honorary president of Search and Rescue South Africa (SARZA), Col Ivor Rimmer, shared an overview of ‘SARZA, a volunteer search and rescue partner’.
Working on Fire’s managing director, Trevor Abrahams, shared some insights on the recently held Wildland Fire Canada Conference 2024 and provided a snapshot of its take home messages.
NMU’s Hannes van Zyl provided an overview of Day One’s presentations and Samukelisiwe Msweli on Day Two.
The above is just a brief overview of the presentations, which will be published in an indepth article in the Fire and Rescue International magazine.
Quote of the week
“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. ” ~ Douglas MacArthur
Fire and Rescue International is your magazine.
Read it, use it and share it!
Read the latest magazine: https://www.frimedia.org/fri-vol-7-no-4.html
FRI magazine archive: https://www.frimedia.org/fri-archives.html
Enjoy the read!
Lee Raath-Brownie
Managing director
Cell: 082 371 0190
Contact us
Tel: 011 452 3135 or Email: [email protected]
Websites
www.fireandrescue.co
www.frimedia.org
www.facebook.com/FireandRescueInternational
www.twitter.com/FRI_magazine
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-raath-brownie-16668065/