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Toughest Firefighter Alive South Africa 2024 held in Mossel Bay, #TFA-SA
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The Toughest Firefighter Alive South Africa 2024 was held at De Bakke Santo Beach in Mossel Bay this year with a record number of participants taking part in South Africa’s largest and most strenuous firefighter challenge.
The overall winners for 2024 were Emile Conrad of Garden Route Fire Department (male) and Baigum Abrahams of City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service. Visit www.frimedia.org/tfa-2024-gallery.html for complete results and the gallery. Congratulations to all participants for their impressive efforts and to the winners, what an amazing result! The Brotherhood/Sisterhood in Action!
Mark Smith, organiser of the event said this year’s TFA is definitely the best TFA this far. ”The Toughest Firefighter Alive South Africa (TFA-SA) competition this year had a very special feel to it. The circuit was extremely well set up by those involved including the event being coordinated brilliantly by the MCs to ensure that the event schedule was largely adhered to,” said Smith.
He added, “It was incredibly encouraging to see the dedication and number of competitors participating with 240 individuals and 58 relay teams making the South African TFA one of the biggest events of its kind in the world. The ‘gees’ of the TFA-SA is unique with the music ensuring a spirited-filled environment with many competitors dancing to the start.”
“A further highlight was seeing Jens Lüdeke from Hamburg in Germany absolutely obliterating the circuit in a record time to demonstrate the level of performance that will be required to challenge on the international circuit. A big thank you to every single person, volunteers, exhibitors, organisers, sponsors, vendors, municipalities and competitors for making this event the success it was,” said Smith.
Jens Lüdeke from Hamburg in Germany said, “I think I can’t really describe what I think and feel about the TFA SA. It was so special. I’ve never seen a competition like that. It was awesome. A competition where all the spectators standing next to the arena begin to dance and sing. Doesn’t matter if they already started or if their event was still lying ahead. People who have so much fun. A competition where I think around 50 percent of the competitors are women. It was insane. The organisation was amazing; special thanks to Mr Smith and his crew. Thanks for all the sponsors who made this happen. Thanks to all the competitors who made this competition a very tough one. They train all year round, not only for themselves or to compete. They train so that they are ready to help/to rescue others in need. As a firefighter and paramedic, we have to be tougher and fitter than the rest of the world. We are the ones people call in an emergency. Training physical fitness also means training resilience. People are not themselves when they have an emergency. They shout at us. Sometimes they want to fight with us and we have to stay cool and collected with them through these traumatising times. A competition like that shows us where we are and what we can do to improve. We try and push past our limits to test what we can do. The crowd is shouting and the course is hitting. That’s why we are doing this. South Africa was very beautiful and a special place for me with all the lovely people to do that with. Many thanks to that beautiful Firefighter Family.”
Fire and Rescue International magazine will be publishing a more indepth overview of this year’s TFA in the upcoming magazine. We received numerous feedbacks from the chief fire officers, team captains and participants, which is included in the magazine article. But for now, enjoy the videos and photo gallery!
  
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| Explosion results in fire at Germiston factory, Ekurhuleni; one injured |
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A large explosion took place inside one of the factories in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, on Friday, 15 November 2024 at around 22h24. The incident happened at 45 Power Road nearest corner of Railway Street in Germiston South and was reported to the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) Life Threatening Call Centre. William Ntladi, district manager media liaison: Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS), said, “The City of Ekurhuleni Emergency Fire and Rescue Services swiftly responded to the scene for intervention after the reception of the call, which stated that the factory is well alight and flames spreading at alarming rate. Three fire stations, Germiston, Vosloorus and Albertinah Sisulu fire stations were simultaneously dispatched for intervention.”
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| CTIF will be the voice of a new firefighters association with the power to influence EU politics – European Firefighters Summit in Brussels November 2024 |
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Representatives of fire brigade associations from Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus took part in the two-day meeting in Brussels on5 and 6 November 2024. This meeting was follow up from meeting in Paris early this year and the main objective is to create a new EU Firefighters Association, which will have power to influence EU politics in the future.
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| Bus fire on Du Toit’s Kloof Pass causes explosions by LPG cylinders; fire spread to surrounding vegetation |
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A bus caught fire on the Du Toit’s Kloof Pass on Sunday evening, 3 November 2024. The bus fire spread to the surrounding vegetation. Drakenstein Fire and Rescue Service Assistant Chief Fire Officer Dereck Peceur, said, “Drakenstein Fire responded to the truck fire after receiving the call. Upon arrival, the Cape Winelands District Municipality was informed when the vegetation started burning. All actions were focussed on preventing the spread of the fire from the trailer to the bus due to LPG gas cylinders being transported on the trailer.”
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| 35 people dead and 43 injured in China after car rams through crowd at stadium |
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A driver has rammed his car into a crowd at a sports centre in southern China, killing 35 people and severely injuring 43 in one of the deadliest attacks in contemporary Chinese history. Chinese authorities took almost 24 hours to officially disclose the incident, which took place on Monday night, 11 November 2024, in Zhuhai, a city of about 2.5 million people in southern China near Macau. Images and videos showing dozens of people knocked to the ground and a car fleeing from the scene, which circulated on China’s major social media platforms on Monday night, were swiftly censored.
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| KwaZulu-Natal ambulance incidents put patient safety in the spotlight |
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The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health is undergoing another internal investigation after an Emergency Medical Rescue bus caught fire while transporting 52 patients near Cedara. Midlands EMS spokesperson Roland Robertson said emergency teams were dispatched to the N3 northbound between Cedara and Merrivale in response to a bus fire involving a patient transport service. Robertson said that upon arrival, crews found the bus had caught alight due to unknown reasons.
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| Houston firefighter dies battling warehouse fire, US |
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A firefighter with the Houston Fire Department died Thursday morning, 7 November 2024, after sustaining injuries while battling a warehouse fire near the Greater East End. The firefighter, identified as Marcelo Garcia, was 42 years old and had served with the department for a decade. According to HFD officials, two other firefighters were transported to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Centre for treatment and another individual injured in the fire sustained minor injuries and is expected to fully recover, KHOU reports.
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| George Fire Services shines at Garden Route’s first Fire Safety Expo |
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The George Fire Services proudly participated in the inaugural Fire Expo, hosted by the Wilderness Fire Forum in collaboration with the Wilderness Ratepayers and Residents Association. Held at the Wilderness Village Green on Saturday, 26 October 2024, this first-of-its-kind event in the Garden Route highlighted essential fire safety awareness and preparedness in the Greater Wilderness and Garden Route area.
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| Welcome to the London Ambulance Service, UK |
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Go behind the scenes of the UK’s biggest and busiest ambulance service. Revealing how frontline staff grapple to deliver the care to the nine million people of the capital. Despite unrelenting pressure and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, we see them go above and beyond in the most testing of times.
Source: BBC
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| City of Tshwane firefighters respond to bus accident on the R80 highway in Pretoria North |
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The City of Tshwane’s Emergency Services Department responded to a bus accident on the R80 Highway, just before the N4 interchange in Pretoria North, near Ga-Rankuwa, on the morning of Wednesday, 6 November 2024. Lindsay Mnguni, acting public information and media liaison officer at the City of Tshwane Emergency Services, said, “The bus accident was reported to the Emergency Communication Centre (ECC) at about 08h40. The ECC immediately dispatched firefighting resources from Rosslyn Fire Station to the scene. These included a ladder and a district commander’s unit.”
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| Featured FRI Magazine article: Public information can save lives! by Rodney Eksteen (FRI Vol 2 no 11) |
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This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Public information can save lives! written by Rodney Eksteen (FRI Vol 2 no 11). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
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| Fire stations of the world: New £4,3m Matlock Fire Station officially opened in Derbyshire, UK |
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The doors of the new Matlock Fire Station in Derbyshire, UK, which became operational in September 2024, were opened as part of an official ceremony attended by local councillors and dignitaries on Tuesday, 22 October 2024. The county’s chief fire officer Gavin Tomlinson was joined by councillors and other dignitaries for the ceremony at Matlock Fire Station. The new £4.3m facility, built at the site of the former fire station in Chesterfield Road, is designed to minimise carbon emissions.
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| Technology: South Australia’s Country Fire Service has added a new Blackhawk helicopter to its fleet to fight bushfires |
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A new Blackhawk heavy-lift helicopter is now on standby at Parafield Airport to support South Australian, Western Victorian and Western Australian communities ahead of the Fire Danger Season. The Pickering UH-60L Blackhawk will provide additional capability to existing state resources as they respond to bushfires and other natural disasters. The Blackhawk can be deployed across South Australia, into Western Victoria and Western Australia, providing extra support that will be coordinated by the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC).
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| Fitness: Firefighter workout: Firefighter Furnace fitness challenge #1 |
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If you are looking for a good physical challenge, try out our first firefighter fitness challenge. Similar to a firefighter combat challenge workout with minimal equipment. Equipment needed:
Pair of 85lb Dumbbells
Pair of 45lb Dumbbells
A cone/marker set up 30 paces away from the starting point.
Source: Firefighter Furnace
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| Training: Search and rescue techniques |
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In this video the Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department demonstrates search and rescue techniques
Source: Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department
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| Vintage: 1930s UK firemen, firefighters, fire engine, rare archive footage |
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From the Kinolibrary archive film collections.1930s Birmingham, firemen race out of fire station and drive fire engine to fight fire.
Source: Kinolibrary
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| Inspiration: Quote of the week |
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NEFSFPA