Suzuki Salt Rock: Driving rescue teams forward
The motoring dealership is sponsoring a Suzuki Jimny 5-door for use by IPSS's Search and Rescue volunteers.
Suzuki Salt Rock is putting the community before profit.
The motoring dealership will for the next three months sponsor a Suzuki Jimny 5-door for use by IPSS’s Search and Rescue volunteers.
Suzuki Salt Rock dealer principal Gisela Witthoft said they wanted to invest in the community in a tangible way.
“During crises such as the recent floods, search and rescue teams are heavily relied upon and the resources available are stretched thin. We are confident that by partnering with IPSS Search and Rescue our vehicle will be put to invaluable good work,” said Witthoft.
Last year IPSS Medical Rescue – an established ambulance service – formalised the volunteer base they have been running for the last nine years as an official NPO.
IPSS Search and Rescue spokesperson Samantha Meyrick said they were grateful to Suzuki Salt Rock for the partnership.
“The Search and Rescue NPO is all about serving the community. The need is huge and the cost of running it is astronomical,” said Meyrick.
They have about 45 volunteers between the ages of 17 and 65, many of whom are their own staff.
“We provide the training and the equipment, while our volunteers bring their passion to be of service, and in many cases years of experience in different rescue fields,” said Meyrick.
When a crisis occurs the IPSS Search and Rescue volunteers work alongside Durban Metro and Umhlali K9 search and rescue, the National Sea Rescue Institute, lifeguards, Cert emergency response Tongaat and other community volunteer groups.
They are often called to assist in situations such as missing children, suspected drownings, rescues and even animals in distress.
Most recently, a hair-raising rescue involved saving two adults whose vehicle had been washed off a low-lying bridge on the Umgeni River.
They were trapped inside while the river raged around them and threatened to wash them away.
“It was a difficult rescue that took collaboration from many rescue teams. Being able to bring those two people out alive was an incredible experience,” said Meyrick.
Affectionately nicknamed ‘The Squirrel’ by the volunteers, the Suzuki Jimny 5-door is a nimble choice for getting across rugged terrain in all types of weather.
Most in its element when the conditions are foul, the vehicle boasts a generous ground clearance of 210mm. Paired with Suzuki’s AllGrip all-wheel-drive system this is a feisty off-road vehicle.
For more on the ‘The Off-Road Legend’, the all-new Jimny 5-door starting from R429 900, contact Suzuki Salt Rock at
032 648 0090.
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