The thrills and chills of being a firefighter
Firefighter with 13 years' experience explains the thrilling firefighting process.
Some dream of driving sports cars, but doing so is nothing in comparison to driving a 6 000 litre fire engine and saving lives.
Sibusiso ‘Die Hard’ Selby Madlopha, a firefighter for 13 years, not only gets to enjoy the privilege of driving a fire truck, but also gets to experience the thrill of saving lives.
Sibusiso told the Herald about the thrills and chills of being a firefighter.
He said the fire station receives an alarm which informs the firefighters of the emergency. After the alarm is received, they have two minutes to gear up and start the fire engine. In the case of a veld fire, the Grassfire Tender Vehicle is sent out instead, as it is easier to handle off-road.
In the case of house fires, Sibusiso said, “On arrival, the firemen will be stationed in the safest possible area. The owner of the house will be located and information about the nature of the fire will be established.”
Teams consisting of two firefighters each are given various tasks aimed at controlling the situation, and the search and rescue team is sent in to look for any trapped or injured victims.
One team deploys the fire-hose and calculates the necessary water pressure to extinguish the fire. “This all depends on the nature of the fire. In most cases, the 35 millimetre nozzle is used as it discharges water at 300 litres per minute, which is strong enough to extinguish a fire but also uses water conservatively.”
A 65 millimetre nozzle is also used in some cases. Sibusiso said a fire truck’s 6 000 litres of water lasts only about 12 to 15 minutes – after that, the fire truck needs to be refilled at a fire hydrant.
In the case of an electrical fire, firefighters use portable dry chemical powder fire extinguishers.
Firefighters also use special equipment, for instance broken-stream sprinklers which are attached to the ceiling of the room in which the fire is burning.
“Since the beginning of this year, I have assisted in extinguishing six serious fires. I am lucky enough to be in a position where I can teach new firemen recruits how to be truly helpful in emergency situations.”
For any fire emergencies, residents can call 107 from a land-line or 011 951 3000 from a cellphone.
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