Courage and service takes the spotlight at the 2025 NSRI AGM and Awards Evening
The NSRI hosted its 58th Annual Awards Evening and AGM at Lagoon Beach Hotel in Cape Town on Friday, 15 August 2025. The evening paid tribute to our dedicated volunteers and courageous individuals who risk their lives to save others on South African waters. It was a celebration of their unwavering commitment and remarkable bravery, recognising the vital role they play in safeguarding lives at sea.
Bravery Bronze Award Keegan Lowe
Gallantry Bronze Award João Eduardo Felizardo
Meritorious Service Award Station 11 – Port Alfred
Bravery Bronze Sheldon Swartbooi
Gallantry Bronze Caro Oosthuizen Johan Strydom
Gallantry Silver Lodewyk van Rensburg
Meritorious Service Award Station 36 – Oyster Bay L-R: Sheldon Swartbooi, Caro Oosthuizen, Lodewyk van Rensburg and Johan Strydom
Gallantry Silver Tiaan de Kock – Received by his father Buks de Kock Jannes Le Roux Pieter van Heerden Russel Goodman
Meritorious Service Award Station 2 – Bakoven and Station 3 – Table Bay L-R: Buks de Kock, Russel Goodman, Jannes Le Roux, Table Bay Station Commander Quentin Botha, Pieter van Heerden and Bakoven Station Commander Bevan Geyser.
Most Improved Station Award Station 51 – Gariep Dam Received by Sonika Classen on behalf of Station Commander Wikus Wiese
Best Rib Station Award Station 12 – Knsyna Received by Station Commander Jerome Simonis Station 14 – Plettenberg Bay Received by Station Commander Jaco Kruger
The Pat O’Sullivan Trophy Station 10 – Simon’s Town Received by Station Commander Simon McDonnell
Marmion Marsh Award Craig Lambinon
Alric Simpson Award Bernard Osrin – accepted by Rob Stirrat on his behalf
Long Service Awards 20 Years Back Row from L-R: Tracy Meintjies (Plettenberg Bay), Jaco Kruger (Plettenberg Bay), Emily Bruwer (Knysna), Glen Preston (Shelly Beach), Keith Carey (Mossel Bay), Heidrun Wassermann (Gqeberha), Catherine Prentis (East London), Stephen van den Berg (Gqeberha), Gert du Plessis (Port Edward) Front row from L-R: Juan Pretorious (Port Alfred), Marius Hayes (Table Bay)
25 Years and Honorary Life Membership Award From L-R: Marc May (St Francis Bay), Jaco de Witt (Table Bay), Mark Koning (Head Office), Michael Whittal (Gqeberha), Justin Erasmus (Gqeberha), Aidan Wood (Port Alfred), Mahboon Ebrahim (Air Sea Rescue), Brett Ayres (Head Office)
30 Years From L-R: Laurent Eray (Plettenberg Bay) Not pictured: Grant Skinner (Mykonos)
35 Years From left to right: John Brown (Mykonos), Andre Fraser (Mossel Bay)
40 Years From left to right: Paul Jordaan (Plettenberg Bay), Michael Saunders (Gauteng)
45 Years Phil Ress (Head Office) 50 Years From left to right: Brad Geyser (Head Office), Rob Stirrat (Head Office)
55 Years Howard Godfrey
A special thank you to our MC for the night, Mark Bayly, Lagoon Beach Hotel for hosting the event, Michael Gideon Design for the medal production, Made by Hand for the certificate framing, XL Events for the setup and decor, Stettyn Family Vineyards for the wine, Andrew Ingram for the photography and Tall Girraffe for capturing the event in video.
Quote of the week “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal or any goal.” ~ Vince Lombardi
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Midvaal’s Morné Mommsen joins elite SADC Emergency Response Team
Midvaal Local Municipality is proud to announce that Morné Mommsen, Divisional Officer for Training at Midvaal Fire and Rescue Services, has been appointed to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Emergency Response Team (ERT). He is one of only two South Africans selected to serve on this specialised regional unit, following a nomination by the municipality and formal endorsement by the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC).
IAFC names Chief Trisha Wolford as 149th president
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) has announced that Chief Trisha Wolford has been appointed as its 149th president. The IAFC said she becomes only the third woman to hold the position in the association’s 152-year history. Her appointment follows Chief Josh Waldo, who served as president over the past year. The IAFC said, “Today, we proudly welcomed the 149th President of our association and only the third female (all within the last 10 years) in our 152-year history. Congratulations to Chief Trisha Wolford! We look forward to supporting you throughout your term.
City of Tshwane firefighters respond to a factory fire in Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria North
A factory fire broke out on the morning of Wednesday, 13 August 2025, in Ga-Rankuwa Zone 15, north of Pretoria, prompting a swift response from the City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department. The incident occurred at about 04:46, when the Emergency Communication Centre received a report of the fire. Lindsay Mnguni, acting public information and media liaison officer, City of Tshwane Emergency Services, said, “Multiple firefighting resources were immediately dispatched and responded from Rosslyn Fire Station, Mabopane Fire Station, Temba Fire Station and Wonderboom Fire Station to the scene.”
Wildfires sweep Spain, Portugal and Greece during unremitting heatwave
Firefighters in Spain, Portugal and Greece are battling fierce wildfires as scorching, dry, intense heat fuels blazes across the region, coinciding with major religious holidays, as global warming leaves its mark on Europe. Spain faced 14 major fires on Friday, said Virginia Barcones, the emergency services chief, as temperatures were forecast to rise further over the weekend. “Today will once again be a very tough day with an extreme risk of new fires,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned on Friday.
Tributes flood in for pilot Andrew Blackwood-Murray after Durban crash
Tributes have poured in for pilot Andrew Blackwood-Murray, who went missing after a plane crash off the coast of Durban on Thursday, 14 August 2025. Blackwood-Murray was participating in an airshow linked to the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Global Summit 2025, hosted at Virginia Airport. The incident occurred just before 2pm when the ZS-AEC Extra 300 aircraft, performing its final display, crashed into the sea. Emergency services quickly responded to Suncoast Beach after eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane plunge into the ocean.
Dogs help people regulate stress even more than expected, research show
In a 2022 survey of 3 000 US adults, more than one-third of respondents reported that on most days, they feel “completely overwhelmed” by stress. At the same time, a growing body of research is documenting the negative health consequences of higher stress levels, which include increased rates of cancer, heart disease, autoimmune conditions and even dementia. Assuming people’s daily lives are unlikely to get less stressful anytime soon, simple and effective ways to mitigate these effects are needed. This is where dogs can help.
While everyone is celebrating women’s day, the City of Ekurhuleni officials engaged community of Gabon informal settlement in Daveyton on fire safety awareness campaign at the Gabon sports ground on Saturday, 9 August 2025. Awareness campaign started 08H00 in the morning till around 12H00 noon, whereby the attendance was phenomenal. Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) officials, together with the Gauteng Fire and Emergency services under CoGTA as Provincial sister departments, all joined hands to share safety messages with the community of Gabon informal settlement.
Colorado wildfires: Latest updates on the 2025 fire season
Fuelled by hot summer weather and persistent drought conditions across the western half of the state, wildfires as of Aug. 18 had burned more than 200,000 acres in Colorado in 2025. It’s Colorado’s worst fire year since 2020, when multiple historic blazes burned a record-setting 625,357 acres, according to National Interagency Fire Centre data. Drought conditions classified as “severe” or “extreme” extend across the majority of the Western Slope, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. A critical fire weather advisory for western Colorado and several neighbouring states has been issued by the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Centre, a Denver-based branch of the NIFC and will remain in place through at least mid-August.
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality welcomes 20 new fire fighters
The Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality celebrated a landmark achievement this week as 20 young recruits graduated as professional firefighters, marking a significant step toward bolstering the district’s capacity to combat wildfires and address youth unemployment. The graduation ceremony, held with pride and optimism, was addressed by Executive Mayor Motseokae Maje, who hailed the recruits as “heroes” and symbols of hope for the community.
Wartime ambulance on the road again – and back on telly again!
The only wartime ambulance known to have survived the Blitz is back on the road again. The glorious Talbot ambulance is part of the London Ambulance Service Historic Collection and has not been in service since around 1950. But viewers may have spotted the WW2 ambulance on Channel 5 recently on The Blitz with Rob Rinder and Ruth Goodman. The presenters climbed on board the vehicle to better understand conditions for ambulance volunteers during the war. When the filming took place, the Talbot ambulance could not be driven.
Featured FRI Magazine article: Backdrafts and flashovers by Colin Deiner
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Backdrafts and flashovers written by Colin Deiner, Chief Director, Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government (FRI Vol 3 no 7). 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: New Ramsgate Fire Station in Newington Road opened by Kent Fire and Rescue Service, UK
A new purpose-built £10 million fire station and training centre fit for 21st Century fire fighting was officially opened in Ramsgate in Kent, UK, on 5 February 2019. A brand new £10 million fire station and training centre officially opened in Ramsgate. The base supports 22 fire fighters from full-time Kent Fire and Rescue Service crews and 14 on-call fire fighters allowing them to be ready for emergencies any day of the year. Nick Chard, Chairman of the Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority, said the site was selected for its good location in terms of accessibility to key road networks and has been built to provide a reliable and efficient modern day service for local people. “As of 7 January 2019, it became home to whole-time crews and 14 on-call fire fighters, together providing an emergency response 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” said Chard.
Technology: Innovative ambulance software could help millions across the world
New ambulance technology developed in Rwanda by University of Birmingham experts working with a local software company could save nearly one million lives. Rwanda Build Program (RWBuild) worked with local and international partners to develop the 912Rwanda software. The new software helps ambulance crews and hospitals coordinate faster care for emergency patients by automatically recommending the nearest available facility which can provide the care that the patient needs.
Fitness: RIT Team Radio: Firefighter Flexibility and Mobility – Part 1
I have struggled with mobility, flexibility and orthopaedic issues for most of my life. I am grateful to the mentors and influences that have helped me over the years, and I hope to “pay it forward” to other firefighters. In Episode 12 of RIT Team Radio, Hussien Jabai and I discuss mobility and flexibility for firefighters in Part 1 of 3 in the series..
In this fire truck tower ladder training video, “Training to perform under pressure” instructor, Steve Ripley, aka “Rip”, instructs firefighters through a cone tapping drill that helps operators establish the necessary skills they need to be precise with an aerial bucket. This drill is useful for rescues, navigating small areas or performing technical rescues.
Source: Fire Spotlight
Vintage: 1909 Nott Steamer Fire Engine with a 1919 American LaFrance Tractor
Took a trip to Rough and Tumble Engineers Steam and Gas Show in Kinzers Pennsylvania. We had the pleasure to watch several steam operated machines including this 1909 Nott Steamer Fire Engine with a 1919 American LaFrance Tractor. This steamer is owned and operated by the members of the East Hampton New York Fire Department.
Source: Battalion Chief John Magrann Fire Museum
Inspiration: Quote of the week
Just for fun
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