Paying homage to our fearless firefighters
AROUND the worl, they all wore five centimetre ribbons of blue and red in honour of International Firefighters Day.
City Fire spokesperson Theo Layne said: “One of the most significant symbols of International Firefighters Day is the red and blue ribbon.
“The significance of this, is the red stands for the element of fire and the blue stands for the water that firefighters use to extinguish fires.”
The event is observed every year on May 4, the day of St Florian, the patron saint of firefighters and it was instituted in 1999, after five Australian firefighters died in a wild fire.
“The 4th of May is also a day to remember all Firefighters that have paid the ultimate price for their dedication, those that have died whilst saving others, their property and the environment. “By proudly wearing the blue and red ribbon, pinned together, we show our gratitude to firefighters the world over,” said Layne.
“This year Red Cross Children’s Hospital invited the Fire Safety Team and firefighters from the Ottery Fire Station and seasonal firefighters to a tea party, just to say thank you.”
Fighting fire in Cape Town “keeps us busy”, said Layne.
“This past summer season seemed more busier than usual because there were three or four fires of a huge magnitude happened within days of each other. But this was not exceptional, compared to other years.
“We dealt with 60 to 80 vegetation fires a day. That figure goes down in winter and then starts up again in October. there’s the same number of shack fires in summer as there is in winter.”