Amanzimtoti’s first firewoman remembered

Amanzimtoti bade farewell to its ‘first firewoman’ following the death of Marge Lingerfelder (88) on Wednesday, 15 November.

Marge’s official job title was firewoman and in 1973 she was believed to be the only woman in Natal and one of three in South Africa.

Based in the control room at Amanzimtoti Fire Department, she was in charge of taking emergency calls, dispatching fire teams, controlling the robots from the control panel on her desk to the ease the way for the firemen and she would not relax until they returned to base. She did this until she retired in 1984.

Marge was also a Red Cross ambulance driver and rendered first aid while taking patients to hospital. She partnered with Flo Binks in the daytime and, at night, as she never had time off, she was always on call and her husband Dan would assist with the call-outs. All this was voluntary work, seven days a week and constantly on call whenever she was needed in the community.

Marge was born in Johannesburg on 17 February 1929 and did her schooling in Rosettenville. She met her husband Dan in Johannesburg and they were married in 1948. They had four children – Bobby, Lyn, Gerald ‘Tank’ and Joan.

Unfortunately she lost Dan, who was well-known for his fishing on Winkle Rocks, in 1991. Marge lived in Toti for 58 years, before she moved to Pretoria in August 2014.

“She was the chief cook at the fire station and cooked lunch for the firemen and functions – she was their ‘mother’ and she was very proud of all her boys,” said her son Gerald. “Our mom became a firewoman because she always looked for challenging work and her number one passion was helping people in need.

She was strong-willed, determined, compassionate, considerate and unwavering in whatever she was called on to do, never complaining – she just got the job done.

Her home was an open house and she took in children and adults in need, fed and clothed them and gave them a place to sleep, always concerned about the well-being of others. She was fun-loving, loved a good party and was the queen of the dance floor.

Besides her love for her 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, cooking was another of her passions and she was well-known for her culinary skills.”

A celebration of Marge’s life takes place on Monday, 27 November at 1pm at The View Boutique Hotel and Spa. RSVP by Friday, 24 November via email to pa@hoteltheview.com.