Alberton Fire Station keeps up with the technological pace
Sizwe Letlape, who has a wealth of all-around experience in logistics, will help advance the technological progress of the city’s fire emergency equipment.
With the Ekurhuleni fire emergency services’ new structure, Alberton Fire Station’s Sizwe Letlape is a shining example of a goal-setter ready to lead from the front.
Letlape is the logistics, fleet and equipment manager for the CoEs fire and emergency services at the Alberton Fire Station.
The manager will oversee the equipment and fleet in the Northern, Eastern and Southern regions, which includes greater Alberton and the surrounding areas.
Though in a managerial position, the father of four does not mind rolling up his sleeves and doing firefighting duties where needed.
Letlape said, “Each region had a manager, but we will now streamline, and I’ll oversee the equipment and fleet throughout the metro.
“In 1998, I started as a firefighter at the Benoni Fire Station and then joined the Boksburg Fire Station the following year.”
In 2005, he was promoted and worked at the Katlehong Fire Station as a shift manager. Later, he was promoted to junior station manager in the logistics department. He served as such from 2007 to 2009 at the Alberton Fire Station, where he still manages the logistics department.
He worked his way up while furthering his knowledge with academic qualifications.
He has a degree in fire technology, is certified in municipal financial management and is certified in ambulance emergency assistance.
His love for fire emergency fleet and equipment surfaced in the early 2000s when he participated in vehicle extrication challenges.
“These are international rescue competitions within fire departments. That’s where I saw the great potential in fire services and the equipment used in these sessions.
Logistical growth
“Ekurhuleni leads in terms of equipment resources. We have equipment other municipalities don’t have,” Letlape said.
William Ntladi of DEMS said they grew massively in terms of their fleet and equipment.
“In the early 1900s, we had vintage equipment unable to operate like recent equipment. Today, we have very high ladder platform equipment that we also own, and one assist in the Bank of Lisbon blaze in 2018. We also have a high-pressure water supply system and can supply about 10 fire engines with water at once,” he said.
Ntladi said this showed their technological growth over the years. He also said the CoE was the only one in the Southern Hemisphere, if not in Africa, that had high-pressure water supply system equipment.
