Officers taught to handle the heat

As the winter season draws nearer, it is normal for households to seek various ways to keep themselves cozy and comfortable. However, some of these heating methods can potentially lead to fire hazards, making it crucial to take extra precautions and ensure safety measures are in place.

Thompsons Security Group recently launched a community awareness campaign aimed at educating people about fire safety.

The campaign is not only meant to prepare the residents and their team for the approaching winter season but also to help them understand what to do in case of a fire emergency.

Security officers had to pretend as if a fire broke out at Fernridge Estate and were required to quickly attend to it on April 18.

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Donald Mahatlane, the security operations director for Broadacres Dainfern Association precinct under Thompsons’ Security Group, said the company hopes to equip its team and community members with the necessary knowledge and skills to handle fire incidents effectively and prevent potential property loss or harm to human lives.

He said the safety of the community is at the heart of their mission.

“This also helps our security officers who are in the group to know what to do in the event of any event of emergency besides fire. We believe that awareness is something that should happen every day because we want to keep our security officers ready for any action.”

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He said they have many awareness campaigns in the bag which include crime prevention.

“I would have loved if we were joined by the Saps, JMPD, etc. However, it was short notice so they couldn’t make it. Being a security officer, our primary focus is crime prevention but obviously, other emergencies come, like fire, robberies, theft, etc. So, during crime prevention, we do stop and search, and that is where we involve law enforcement agencies, we also do patrol, roadblocks, and so on.”

During the practical experience of the officers attending a fire emergency, Mahatlane said they had a strict time line.

“I was impressed by the time record. We received a call exactly at 17:40, and our first responder arrived here at 17:42, and then our backup vehicle was sent out at 17:46, and they were here at 17:50 which makes it a very good response time, whether there was a criminal activity or fire, that time was fantastic. It means the house didn’t burn to ashes and no one got hurt during this experiment or training.”

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