Female firefighters demonstrate highline rope rescue operation
The firefighters rescue technicians are trained to save lives of people who are located high level areas.
As part of the ongoing Women’s Month celebrations, a team of women firefighters rescue technicians demonstrated how they deal with fire situations using the highline rope rescue operation at Leon Ferreira Fire Station and Training Centre, on August 12.
The City of Ekurhuleni’s Emergency Services Training Academy senior district manager, Theresa Geldenhuys, said these kinds of operations normally need a minimum of 10 members to be successfully done.
“There are rescue technicians based in various fire stations around the City of Ekurhuleni, but today it is only a team of women rescue technicians that is showcasing the rescue operation.
“The highline rope rescue operation was introduced a long time ago and it was mostly used to rescue people stuck on trees during floods or rescue people from high areas during fires.
“It is made up of two groups which is the rigger one that controls the rescue ropes from the high-level area/building and the rigger two that controls the rescue ropes from the ground,” explained Geldenhuys.
She added that there’s a specific jargon they use while in the rescue operations which every team member must know and understand.
The incident commander/safety officer of the rescue technicians team Zenzi Mnguni explained that she loves being a firefighter because she saves lives and that is fulfilling for her.
“There are no limitations for us in doing our work as female firefighters. As women firefighters, we do the same tasks as men. The only issue we have is that the people we are serving doubt us, but as female firefighters and women at large we are not discouraged by that.
“Those historic ideals that men and women are designed for different jobs were abolished a long time ago. In our highline rope rescue operations, we use different types of ropes. We use utility and harness ropes. The utility rope is used to carry a patient and a harness rope is used to carry a rescuer,” said Mnguni.
She added that they are different types of equipment that make the operations possible like a pick-off strip, cabinners, fall arrestor and double pulley.
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