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ETS hosts Industrial Emergency Response Competition 2024 at its training centre in Redan
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Emergency Training Solutions (ETS) hosted its Industrial Emergency Response Competition 2024 at its training centre in Redan on 31 October 2024. 13 teams competed this year, which included Sappi Ngodwana, Sappi Saiccor Spartans, Sappi Stanger “Fired Up”, Sappi Tugela, Team Charnaud, the Bulls, SA Mint, Miner League, Team Kusile, Matimba Fire Ops Team, Matimba Maintenance Team, Matimba FRM Fire Team and Ndlela SR.
11 judges ensured that all participants adhered to the rules and ensured all went as planned. The judges were Shadrack Mudzuli, Anthony Bruno, Callie Vermeulen, Johannes Moreba, Erna Redinger, Chris Aucamp, Tshepo Mpeake, Heinrich Brown, Cyril Berman and Daniel Pieterse.
The 2024 Industrial Emergency Response Competition consisted of three scenarios testing the skills of the teams. Each scenario offered its own challenge, creating a solution-driven task, promoting leadership skills alongside technical and incident management skills.
   
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| Mossel Bay Municipality Fire chief to lead provincial platform for 11th consecutive year |
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Senior Manager for Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management Services of the Mossel Bay Municipality, CFO Joseph Johnston was re-elected as chairperson of the Western Cape Chief Fire Officers Committee (CFOcom). The quarterly meeting of the committee and election was held at the Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre in Cape Town on Wednesday, 20 November. CFO Johnston, seated front, second from left, will be serving as Chairperson of CFOcom for the 11th consecutive year. Chief Fire Officer Theo Botha from Breede Valley Municipality, standing, far right, was elected as the vice chairperson.
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| Resources for you, curated by experts in the field: Integrated Health and Wellness Toolkit |
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The First Responder Centre for Excellence recently launched its Integrated Health and Wellness Toolkit. “We’re excited to announce the launch of our comprehensive health and wellness toolkit! We’ve created a clearinghouse for all things health and wellness-related that fire and EMS departments of all sizes, both career and volunteer, can access and use to implement or improve their programmes. Take a look and be sure to send us any evidence-based resources, policies and programmes you’d like to share.”
Source: First Responder Centre for Excellence
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| City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department holds a prestigious rank-awarding ceremony for newly appointed officers |
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During May 2024, 48 positions in the City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department were advertised. These were critical service delivery positions, which comprised the following:
• 16 district commanders
• 11 company commanders
• Seven fire safety officers
• Seven emergency planning officers
• Seven disaster management officers
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| Alberta-made 100-foot sprinkler tower heralded as the latest wildfire fighting tool |
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Perhaps the world’s largest pop-up sprinkler, a new telescoping tower-of-shower is bringing its portable cloud to a wildfire soon. “These 100-foot towers can spray water over a forest canopy, the top of the trees, so when a wildfire is approaching, these can be pre-set up and help to mitigate the potential damage from wildfires coming in,” said firefighting consultant Brian McIntosh. He has many years of experience battling fires in Canada and around the world, and he sees real promise in the RainStream.
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| Fire breaks out at historic Margate Hotel, KwaZulu-Natal South Coast |
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A fire broke out at the historic Margate Hotel on South Africa’s South Coast on Monday, 18 November 2024. Pravesh Ramchander, station officer at Ray Nkonyeni Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management, said, “ On 18 November 2024 at 02h30, the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM) Emergency Control Centre received a call reporting a fire at Margate Hotel on Marine Drive, Margate located within Ray Nkonyeni municipal area. Fire crews were immediately dispatched. Upon arrival fire crews reported that due to high fire loading and combustible floor construction the fire spread rapidly through the floors and stories. Due the height of the building ladders had to be pitched externally to access the fire as the timber constructed floor was unstable.”
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| Eastern Cape police hunt for hijacked ambulance after crew, eight-year-old patient dumped on roadside at night |
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The Eastern Cape Health Department and the police were hunting for one of the province’s ambulances on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, after the vehicle was hijacked at gunpoint near Qumbu. The crew and their patient, an eight-year-old, who was being taken to Nelson Mandela Bay Hospital in Mthatha, were left at the side of the road. Department spokesperson Mkhululi Ndamase confirmed the incident, saying the vehicle and equipment alone were worth R1-million.
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| Featured FRI Magazine article: Structural collapse: voids and void exploration by Colin Deiner (FRI Vol 2 no 11) |
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This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Structural collapse: voids and void exploration written by Colin Deiner, Chief Director, Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government (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: Sumner Fire Station, Christchurch, New Zealand |
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The Sumner Fire Station was badly damaged during the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. It was replaced and opened together with the flagship Christchurch City Fire Station as part of a $78 million redevelopment of stations in greater Christchurch, by Fire and Emergency New Zealand. Sumner Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Daryl Sayer said they took possession of the $3 million facility in May 2023. “Everyone’s been so excited. The crew’s been really keen to get in and we’ve are now into our second week of being in the station and everyone’s smiling, they’re really loving being here”.
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| Technology: Playing with fire: How VR is being used to train the next generation of firefighters |
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VR technology has been with us for years, but is still a relatively niche pursuit, primarily occupied by gamers using the best VR headsets for immersive gaming. But there are tons of exciting applications for the technology emerging in professional environments. HTC, one of the big names in VR, invited Live Science to the idyllic English town of Moreton-in-Marsh, home of the Fire Service College, to learn how VR is training our next generation of firefighters. Before we actually saw any training programs, we were shown around the world-class incident training ground by Paul Speight, incident command instructor at the college. We toured the various buildings they use to practice fire rescue scenarios, including the UK’s shortest motorway and a mock section of an offshore oil rig, which Speight was more than happy to ignite for our amazement.
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| Fitness: Firefighter Furnace: Six great exercises for firefighters |
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If you’re looking for a great firefighter workout, implement these movements into your routine.
#1 Dumbbell complex – great for building core strength
#2 Pull up variations – multiple joint and muscle group activation
#3 Object holds – great for building strength through your midline
#4 Deadlift – basic and best for building overall strength
#5 Weighted burpee step up – great for building your engine
#6 Ball slams – great for increasing explosive strength
Source: Firefighter Furnace
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| Training: One person window lift with ladder removal |
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This video shows a one person window lift and subsequent victim removal via ground ladder.
Source: When Things Go Bad, Inc
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| Vintage: Fire stories: firefighting in the 1960s |
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We like to think of the fire service as a family and that’s never more true than in our retired firefighter community. We spoke to three retired firefighters about how firefighting has changed over the decades, memorable incidents and the camaraderie, which they still enjoy to this day.
Source: South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
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| Inspiration: Quote of the week |
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Effective leadership
Listening is a fundamental and crucial component of effective leadership. Many individuals in leadership positions may hear the words being spoken by their team, but they often fail to truly listen and understand the underlying messages and emotions. This distinction between hearing and listening is vital; true listening involves not just the auditory process but also empathy, engagement, and the willingness to consider different perspectives. To foster a supportive and productive work environment, a leader must prioritize active listening. This means:
-Taking the time to pause, reflect, and fully absorb what team members share.
-Valuing your team insights and concerns.
– Building trust, strengthening relationships and creating a culture of open communication.
Ultimately, effective leadership requires the ability to step back, silence one’s own opinions at times and genuinely connect with the thoughts and feelings of their team.
. Source: Leadership First
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NEFSFPA