The City’s Fire and Rescue Services launched its nationally and internationally accredited training academy in Epping yesterday, 19 May 2010.
Four separate training centres were amalgamated to create the academy, which is accredited by the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA), as well as the South African Emergency Services Institute. The new academy is the only Fire and Rescue Service Training Academy in South Africa where facilitation and internal moderation takes place. This enables the academy to ensure training of the highest quality and set nationwide standards.
The new academy is needed to train new staff who have joined the service over the last four years.
External sponsors assisted the academy in designing and building props in order to conduct more advanced training. “The academy boasts simulated collapsed buildings, collapsed trenches, sewer pipes, and a residential flat, as well as a hazardous materials training-simulator, industrial firefighting simulator and maze. All of this was made possible through donations from various private organisations.
At the launch, Fire and Rescue Services also displayed their readiness to deal with any challenges that may occur during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The Service has enhanced their resources to this end, acquiring additional appliances and equipment, and training and employing an additional 120 firefighters on a contract basis.
Training of existing staff is ongoing with a focus on advanced training. This includes training 39 Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) technicians, 24 Technical Rescue Operators, 60 Basic Ambulance Assistants and 15 Ambulance Emergency Assistants. The Hazmat technicians are extensively trained in dealing with chemical, biological and radiological fallout and identifying explosives. Some of their training was conducted at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station and with the Explosives Unit of the South African Police Services.
The Technical Rescue Operators are ready to deal with any technical rescue incident such as a building collapse, trench collapse, sewer rescues, rescues from heavy vehicles, swift flowing water rescues, and rope rescues. The Unit has trained with the Specialised Dog Unit of the South African Police Services to locate trapped victims.
For the FIFA World Cup™, the Public Viewing Areas (Fan ‘Jols’), FIFA Fan Fest™ and Cape Town Stadium have been inspected and declared compliant with safety rules and regulations. The Fire Safety Section also conducts regular visits to various hotels and buildings to ensure compliance with safety regulations. An operational deployment plan is in place to ensure fire cover, not only at the identified venues, but also to the remainder of the city.
The Provincial Joint Operations Centre and the City’s Joint Operations Centre will be staffed by senior officers of the Fire and Rescue Service on a 24/7 basis during the World Cup. In addition, each venue will have a Venue Operations Centre staffed by Fire Officers to ensure the safety of all who attend.
