He visited Cape Town to help bring several fires under control and save the environment, especially the national park of which Table Mountain forms part. One of the most severe fires he attended was at Du Toits Kloof in Paarl, which lasted for 10 days.

Masango was part of the 25 members hotshot team deployed from Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve to the Western Cape, to assist with some of the major fires.

‘‘It has been difficult to fight some of these fires in the Western Cape, because of the hot, dry and windy conditions. The terrain is also difficult to work on, but firefighters are well prepared for the fire season,’’ Masongo said.

He added that as a team, they were able to save several lives and properties from the raging fires around Cape Town and its surrounding towns. The team is made up of firefighters from different based across the country. According to Masongo, fires vary from province to province.

‘‘In Gauteng we normally extinguish grass fires, but in the Western Cape, the environment mostly consists of fynbos-based vegetation,’’ he explained.
Recently, the team has gained experience to work with aerial resources and as a result, team members have been exposed to fight fires in a variety of terrains.

‘‘The Western Cape is known for its fatal and deadly runaway fires. Firefighters often spend long hours putting out blazes in mountainous areas and it is not easy to contain these fires,’’ he said.

WoF crew members underwent rigorous training for deployments in Nelspruit last year and Masongo said the presence of the WoF team has eased the burden on the Newlands firefighters recently.

WoF general manager in Gauteng Stephen Boyes said that the firefighters are currently in Cape Town to help protect the environment, especially the flora and fauna in the National Park.