Beyond the call of duty – brave volunteer firefighters
Firefighting teams came out in their numbers to take part in the 15th Annual National Firefighting Competition held at the Fire Protection Association of South Africa (FPASA) Fire College in Boksburg, on Thursday, May 22.
The eight teams and 22 fire marshals (individuals) from various companies participated in hose drills, extinguishing three dimensional fires and extinguishing transformer fires.
According to the Fire Colleges’ operations manager Danny Foslcher, the annual event demonstrates to industries how to extinguish fires before the fire department arrives at an emergency scene.
“Participants are not full-time professional firefighter. They are from the mining, insurance, nursing and corporate industries and are trained on a part-time basis,” explains Folscher.
Foslcher, who is the head of training at the college, adds that it is important to always have someone on site in a company who is trained in fighting a fire.
“The competition judges the teams and marshal, based on who extinguishes a fire in the quickest and safest manner. Marshals also undergo a theory exam, which consists of office fires, pan liquid fires and a fire hose drill,” he says.
Judges included firefighters from the industry.
