Firefighters hard at work
A total of 45 fires have successfully been suppressed by the dedicated team of firefighters from Working on Fire (WoF) since the beginning of the official fire season.
MBOMBELA- The community is further urged to fight tooth and nail against spread of veld fires in the province as a way of protecting the environment and guarding against the effects of climate change which includes deforestation among an endless list of threats.
Mpumalanga general manager of WoF, Martin Bolton urges the community to be vigilant when it comes to the possible spread of fires. “Through our partnerships with the fire Protection Association, SANParks, Provincial and District Disaster Preventing infrastructure vandalism will also prevent loss of life and livelihood, we will be able to respond quickly in rendering a highly skilled veld-fire suppression service,” he said.
The province has more than 654 WoF firefighters stationed at 23 bases. Its ground force is well supported by WoF aerial support teams which are made up of spotter planes, helicopters and bomber aircraft. The 2014, the province experienced the worst fire season in a period of seven years.
“We suppressed over 521 fires which had caused damage to the environment and economy of the province,” he added.
WoF prides itself in having adequate firefighters armed with firefighting skills to effectively respond to unwanted veld and
forestry fires.
