14th NMU Fire Management Symposium held in Karkloof, KwaZulu-Natal
The Forestry Department (George Campus) of the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) held its 14th Fire Management Symposium from 6 to 8 November 2024 at the Halliwell Country Inn in Karkloof, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The symposium was hosted in partnership with industry stakeholders. The theme of the symposium was “Educating and training for effective wildfire management”. The symposium brought together fire managers, stakeholders and wildland fire management agencies from various sectors, including nature conservation, agriculture, fire services, fire protections associations, disaster management and forestry.
The event included a field day where participants visited a sugar cane farm in New Hanover where several demonstrations were conducted by various suppliers. This was followed by a visit to the KwaZulu-Natal Fire Protection Association’s airstrip and base in Shafton, where delegates could visit several industry exhibits. Fire and Rescue International was its official media partner.
Presentations Tiaan Pool, the HOD Forestry Department at NMU, welcomed all and shared the usual formalities.
Keynote speaker Dr Ronald Heath, director: Research and Protection at Forestry South Africa (FSA) discussed ‘Educating the nation: The effect of sound Fire management on the lives of South Africans’, in which he said that we need to acknowledge that sound fire management has significant positive effects on the lives of South Africans. Dr Heath added that proper fire management strategies are crucial in reducing the risk and severity of uncontrolled wildfires and are key to environmental management.”
International presenter, Bryan Yockers, the education and outreach facilitator with the Prairie Project in the USA, shared his presentation on ‘Agents of change: Enhancing student understanding of fire, herbivory and rangeland ecosystem services. The project targets the youth to teach values that will enable them to be agents for change when they grow up. He said that data shows that the interventions do make a difference.
The second day keynote address was by Rob Thompson of NCT Forestry Agricultural Cooperative Limited, who discussed the ‘Three key elements: surprise, anxiety and disturbance’, providing an overview of the recent NCT chip mill fire in Richard’s Bay.
Quote of the week “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. “ ~ Douglas MacArthur
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South Africa’s firefighters take part in the World firefighter Games 2024
The World firefighter Games 2024 was held in Aalborg, Denmark from the 7 to 14 September 2024 and attracted over 1 500 firefighters from over 50 countries. The games are held biennially in different countries and offer more than 50 different sports with the Toughest Firefighter Alive being the blue riband event.
Massive fire at wood recycling centre challenges Baltimore fire crews
Baltimore City fire crews battled a massive wind-driven brush fire in Camp Small, located near Brand Street. The fire, which began around 17h15, engulfed a large pile of trees and logs stacked up to 30 feet high, creating significant challenges for firefighters due to its intensity and limited access to the area, WBAL reports. There was only one roadway to access the woodpiles.
Cape Winelands celebrates new fire fighters
The Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM) celebrated the graduation of 29 brave new firefighters on Thursday, 28 November 2024. “I read recently in the Down to Earth edition of 19 November 2024 that due to climate change, the last year has been one of the most difficult for fire services across the world. From Europe to Central Africa and even in the Middle East, mega fires, which are fires that stretch over vast areas and continue for a long time, were experienced firsthand,” stated Ald (Dr) Elna von Schlicht, Executive Mayor of the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM) during her address.
Wildfire explodes in California, spurring mass evacuations and shelter-in-place order at Pepperdine, US
A ferocious wildfire was spreading rapidly early Tuesday, 10 December 2024, in Malibu, spurring evacuations along the coast while nearby Pepperdine University issued a campus-wide shelter-in-place order and firefighters struggled to battle the flames. The eastern half of Malibu was ordered evacuated, and the rest of the city was under an evacuation warning. Some 6 000 residents live in the area ordered evacuated, firefighters said, most of the city’s population of about 11 000. About 2 000 structures are affected by the mandatory evacuation order.
Lanes closed on M3 outbound after bus catches alight in Cape Town
A bus caught alight on the M3 highway, close to Newlands Forest, in Cape Town shortly before 07h00 on Tuesday, 3 December 2024. Residents who live close to the scene reported hearing a “loud bang” and said there was “considerable smoke” before the fire spread to grassy areas along the road. City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said firefighters from Wynberg and Salt River went to the scene.
Six dead after huge explosion at block of flats in The Hague as rescuers search for survivors and cops hunt ‘speeding car’, Netherlands
Six people have died after a huge explosion ripped through a block of flats in the Netherlands with cops now hunting for a car. Rescuers were searching for survivors in the three-storey building in The Hague after the blast at around 06h15am on Saturday, 7 December 2024. The Dutch Urban Search and Rescue service sent a rescue group to the scene on Saturday morning, including four dog handlers and a structural engineer. By 11h30am local time, the fire was nearly out and rescue dogs were searching for possible victims, firefighters said.
City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department firefighters responded to a building fire incident at Netcare Pretoria East Hospital
The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department received a call at 18h59 on Thursday, 5 December 2024, regarding a fire that broke out at Netcare Pretoria East Hospital. Lindsay Zwelithini Mnguni, acting public information and media liaison officer, City of Tshwane Emergency Services, said, “The Emergency Communications Centre (ECC) immediately dispatched the first three nearest fire stations to the incident. The firefighting resources included two engine pumpers, one rapid intervention unit, a water tanker and a mobile communication unit.”
Roof fire results in major fire brigade operation Radeberg, Germany
There was a major fire on Heidestrasse in Radeberg, Germany, on Tuesday afternoon, 10 December 2024. The fire broke out in the roof area of a former Robotron building. Fire departments from Radeberg and the surrounding area arrived to extinguish the fire. This proved difficult because the flames spread extremely quickly under the roof. Fire departments from outside were also called in to support the local emergency services. The Bautzen district’s emergency drone and the fire service technical centre were also deployed.
Cape Town’s bravest spread holiday spirit for Toy Run
As many as 16 000 toys, including plush toys, toy cars and dolls were donated for the drive, which culminated in an event at Killarney International Raceway on Sunday, 24 November 2024. The City’s firefighters were overwhelmed by the support shown by communities, and have committed to exploring additional options to sustain such collection drives throughout the coming year, utilising fire stations as accessible drop-off facilities.
Incredible escape as truck smashes fire truck on icy US highway
Emergency crews were responding to an accident on an icy Michigan highway in the US, when a truck hurtled into their fire truck as they stood next to the vehicle on Thursday, 12 December 2024. Amazingly, none of them was hurt and the truck driver suffered only minor injuries. Thursday’s crash in Kalamazoo County was due to a winter storm that caused a number of road crashes.
Source: Sky Star News
Featured FRI Magazine article: Rescue operations during helicopter accident on board the motor vessel, Jolly Rubino; a case study by Andrè Tomlinson (FRI Vol 2 no 12)
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Rescue operations during helicopter accident on board the motor vessel, Jolly Rubino; a case study written by Andrè Tomlinson (FRI Vol 2 no 12). 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.
Fire stations of the world: Sumner Fire Station, Christchurch, New Zealand
Canada’s Town of Hanover is proud to announce the relocation of its fire station to a new, net zero facility at 670 1st Street. This strategic move is part of the town’s ongoing commitment to improving public safety and ensuring efficient emergency response for all residents.
Technology: Sikorsky and Rain successfully demonstrate autonomous flight with Wildfire Mission Autonomy to rapidly find and suppress test fires
Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT) and Rain, a leader in autonomous aerial wildfire containment technology, successfully demonstrated how an autonomous Black Hawk® helicopter can be commanded to take off, identify the location and size of a small fire, and then accurately drop water to suppress the flames. Performed on 29 October 2024 at Sikorsky headquarters in Stratford, the Rapid Wildfire Response Demonstration showed the effective fusion of Sikorsky’s MATRIX™ flight autonomy with Rain’s Wildfire Mission Autonomy system to suppress a fire in its incipient stage.
Fitness: Wall walks
Wall walks are awesome for shoulders and core. Wall walks are also great for balance. Should be apart of every firefighter workout programme.
Source: Firefighter Furnace
Training: Head first drag
Here is a civilian drag option when the victim presents head first.
Source: When Things Go Bad, Inc
Vintage: Fordingbridge Fire Station – 1960 turnout archive footage
On-call firefighters have been keeping the people of Hampshire safe for generations.
This unearthed archive footage from around 1960 shows the amazing work of the Fordingbridge crews.
Source: Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service
Inspiration: Quote of the week
Just for fun
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the articles and in any corresponding comments are the opinions of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Fire and Rescue International editorial team or its management.
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