Plans in place to fight fires on all fronts

THE PROVINCIAL government has 21 aircraft on standby to tackle wildfires across the Western Cape in the coming months. These include nine water-bombing helicopters, four water-bombing aircraft and eight spotter command and control aircraft that can be deployed using 36 runways prepared across the Western Cape.

Briefing journalists on the provincial fire season, Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said: “Every year the fire season seems to be getting worse.

“Conditions across the province are still hazardous in many areas following the devastating drought that caused lots of brush and veld to die.

“If the veld catches alight and the wind takes the flames, the results can be devastating.”

The aerial resources will be complemented by 1 550 municipal firefighters across the province, bolstered by more than 1000 seasonal firefighters from municipalities and other organisations.

Deputy director of Fire and Rescue Services Etienne de Toit said: “There are also 24 Working on Fire (WoF) teams with about 830 firefighters in the Western Cape, and an additional 500 firefighters in other provinces who can be called on.”

Bredell said all firefighting efforts remained collaborative, with the province co-ordinating the response from the provincial disaster management centre in Tygerberg.

“We have many critical partners without whom we wouldn’t be able to manage. They include WoF, the City of Cape Town’s Fire Services and district municipality fire services, SANparks, CapeNature, the volunteer fire fighters and fire protection associations.”

Saying the public’s help was critical, Bredell urged visitors to and residents of the province to act quickly and responsibly to prevent fires and to report them when seen.

He said: “I advise the public to report any fire immediately and not to assume it’s been reported. If we can get to a fire within the first hour the possibility of a major incident is minimised.”