SIR LOWRY’S PASS

EMERGENCIES

FORUM ESTABLISHED

IN 2014 Marcus Slingers from Metro Ambulance College staff invited members of neighbourhood watches in Somerset West and its community policing forum (CPF) to become part of a programme to train residents about the basics of emergency first aid.

After joining the programme, called EFAR, and receiving training themselves, members of the CPF, with the assistance of Warrant Officer Deon van der Westhuizen, trained many residents in Somerset West, Sir Lowry’s Pass, Strand, Macassar and Lwandle.

Then, in January 2017, Sir Lowry’s

Pass and Somerset West experienced devastating fires that threatened farms and estates. “Many lessons were learnt… we all realised that we needed to be more prepared,” said Sue Buckland, vicechairperson of the Somerset West CPF.

“With this in mind, I asked the CPF chairperson whether the CPF would be prepared to mentor a working group that would hold discussions, undertake research and workshop ideas to create specifically tailored protocols for the management of disaster incidents.”

After undertaking this task the

Sir Lowry’s Pass Civic Emergency Management Forum was established, with the approval of Johan van der Westhuizen, head of the City of Cape Town’s disaster risk management centre.

“Now that we have been involved in joint patrols and operations, we feel confident that in an emergency situation our watch teams will be able to implement protocols (and assist) the responding authorities from the City of Cape Town,” said Buckland.