WESTERN CAPE NEWS - Working on Fire (WoF), the Department of Environmental Affairs' programme to help fight veld and forest fires, will be hard at work throughout the province to prepare its participants for the 2017/18 Western Cape Veld Fire Season.

The Yellow Card Training Camp officially launched on 26 September and will continue until 6 October. 

More than 760 firefighters within the province stationed at 28 bases, will undergo the training in order to refresh their firefighting skills and test their physical and mental fitness in preparation. 

These fire fighters have been deployed across the province to reduce the personal and economic harm caused by unwanted veld and forest fires.

"The Yellow Card Training is a good opportunity for our firefighters to be refreshed on their skills to tackle the coming fire season. 

"We are expecting an excellent pass rate from both the Southern and Western sectors. 

"Together with our various stakeholders and partners, we aim to tremendously reduce the risk of fires throughout the province, and ensure that our communities remain safe from unwanted fires," said WoF Acting General Manager, Felicia Ngwasheng.

During the 2017 Winter Fire Season, more than 1 000 firefighters assisted partners in suppressing 24 fires, limiting the areas burnt to approximately 40 065 hectares. 

Firefighting aircraft spent 265.2 flying hours (238 of it flown at the devastating fires that swept across the Garden Route in June).

The veldfire season officially starts on 1 December and will continue to the end of March 2018. Over the past two years, WoF Western Cape assisted local and private landowners with the suppression of close to 550 fires.

WoF is providing fire suppression and prevention services to a whole range of landowners throughout the province, such as CapeNature, Southern Cape Fire Protection Association, South African National Parks, Greater Overberg FPA and the Greater Cederberg Fire Protection Association.

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