Bossie’s love for the job
Bossie Bosman (56) from Selection Park has been a fire fighter for almost 34 years.
According to Bossie, to be a fire fighter you have to love working with people and be prepared to learn something new every day.
Bossie is passionate about his job and says a fire fighter should not be scared of heights.
He works for the Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services in logistics and travels between nine different fire stations.
Although the clothes they wear are fireproof, Bossie says they can get extremely hot .
However, if they are at the scene of a fire for a long time, they do get breaks and are served refreshments such as energy bars and water.
“This is an improvement in the system and is very important,” he says.
A typical day in the life of a fire fighter is to be prepared when a fire or rescue call is received at the fire station.
A matric certificate is required to become a fire fighter.
The Public Information, Education and Rotation (PIER) senior manager Aaron Mafunda says subjects such as physics, science, maths and biology are needed if a fire fighter wants to enter university.
It will cost R10 000 for a full time fire fighting course.
Applicants can visit www.saesi.com to find all accredited colleges to study to become a fire fighter.
To become a basic ambulance assistant visit www.phcsa.co.za to find a college.
Mafunda says this course is four to six weeks and will range between R6 000 and R8 000.
Bossie says this is an interesting career choice with a lots of potential.
