VIDEO: Fighting fire with fire
The Working on Fire team can be used for protection and preventing fires during the critical fire season.
With the fire season on our doorsteps, landowners in rural parts of Krugersdorp already have experienced the wrath of veld and forest fires.
The Working on Fire (WoF) team that is training and equipping themselves to combat veld fires, recently was fighting fire in the Magaliesburg area.
Lehlogonolo Morweng, the crew leader of the WoF Krugersdorp team says they already have attended to three fires in the area while the Magaliesburg team is gearing up to help landowners and farmers with firebreaks in Magalies. These firebreaks are strips of open land in forest or veld created to stop a fire from spreading.
Before burning firebreaks the team first must find out from the base manager what the fire danger index (FDI) is.
“We use the FDI to make sure that when we do firebreaks it is safe. This minimises chances of fires getting out of control,” explains Sipho Ntuli, the Magaliesburg crew leader.
He says firebreaks are the most important part of preventing the spread of veld and forest fires.
“We already have attended to one fire in the area and it is not really fire season yet.”
Ntuli says because of this year’s high rainfall, grass has grown very tall and poses a threat of fires if landowners do not burn firebreaks.
Avhasei Maswime, WoF’s General Manager in Gauteng emphasises the importance that all landowners burn firebreaks.
“The team can be used for protection and preventing fires during the critical fire season. They also can assist with fuel reduction out of the fire season by slashing tall grass,” says Maswime.
“We also encourage land owners to form fire protection associations for support.”
For more information about WoF visit their website at www.workingonfire.org.
