There’s still time to create firebreaks
KYALAMI - With the onset of the dry winter months, Working on Fire is advising community members who live on plots in the Kyalami and Midrand area to create firebreaks.
This call comes after the 2013 fire season was difficult in Gauteng with over 326 fires and an estimated 20 137ha burnt.
Working on Fire’s general manager in Gauteng, Avhasei Maswime said landowners should be able to prevent and fight veld and forest fires during the winter fire season. Firebreaks are protection zones around properties, for example vegetation is cut to ground level or safely burnt to suppress or slow a fire.
Working on Fire is a programme funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs to alleviate poverty, develop skills and conserve the environment through fighting veld and forest fires. They are trained to suppress veld and forest fires.
Maswime said, “Due the condition of the dry grass, the winter fire season officially kicks off on 1 August until the end of October, and it is a no-smoke period according to National Veld and Forest Fire Act of 1998. From June until the end of July landowners are still encouraged to create firebreaks.”
He said the Working on Fire teams were using a fire danger index to determine the weather conditions so that when they create firebreaks, it is safe.
“This minimises chances of fires getting out of control when creating firebreaks,’’ he said.
Maswime said firefighters also conduct fire prevention initiatives such as prescribed burning, creation of firebreaks and mandatory fire safety campaigns before the start of the fire season. He said close to 321 Working on Fire veld and forest fire fighters were stationed at 13 bases, and one structural firefighting team worked across the province. Teams can be dispatched within six minutes.
He explained that partnerships with some fire protection associations, landowners and local municipalities would enable the teams to respond quickly anywhere in the province. Working on Fire aims to establish relationships with all local fire protection associations. “Through partnerships, we can enter into an agreement to offer them a well-trained team,” he said.
Last year, provincial communications officer for the programme Working on Fire, Parapara Makgahlela appealed to Midrand community members to start their own fire protection associations.
Details: Parapara Makgahlela, makgahlelap@gmail.com
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