MAKHADO (LOUIS TRICHARDT) - Fire plays an important role in maintaining the ecological balance, but just as fire is a friend to many it can also be a dangerous enemy.

Every year, millions of rands worth of infrastructure is lost due to fires, not to mention human fatalities. In this regard, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) launched an extensive plan to try and address the problem. This saw the implementation of the Veld and Forest Fire Act in 1998, which made it possible for local communities to establish a Fire Protection Association (FPA). In addition, DWAF also launched the Working on Fire (WoF) programme.

The aims of the WoF programme, amongst others, include the implementation of an effective “first line of defence” during high risk periods to minimize the destructive power of fires; the improvement of ground fire fighting capability on a national scale; and the promotion and creation of fire fighting teams (funded by the WoF programme) to be deployed as a first line of defence. The programme also allows for affordable air support during crisis periods in conjunction with Disaster Management, the Air Force and local FPA’s.

Through the WoF programme, some 500 fire fighters were trained, all of whom were previously unemployed. The group of fire-fighters was broken up in teams of 22 members and deployed in high fire risk areas across South Africa.

The WoF team for Louis Trichardt is stationed at Shefeera near Maelula, Kunda and Seville. The team comprises men and women from these communities and is managed by the Zoutpansberg Fire Association. They form part of the Forest Fire Association (FFA) and Umbrella Fire Protection Association (UFPA) from Nelspruit, which manages the WoF programme for the Limpopo and Mpumalange Provinces on behalf of the DWAF.

The team at Shefeera were formed in June 2004 and quickly established themselves as one of the best fire-fighting teams in South Africa. They won their first gruelling regional competition in August 2004 at Sabie, com-peting against teams from Hoedspruit, Nelspruit, Witrivier, Tzaneen, Graskop and Warbeton. During the last week of January this year, they competed in the national competition in Krugersdorp, taking an overall third place nationally. They came up against stiff competition from teams from the South and Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Freestate and Kwa-Zulu Natal. Team leader Happy Mpandeli also won the trophy for running the 2,4km fitness challenge the fastest.

Apart from fire fighting, the team can also be utilized for the preparation of fire-breaks.

For more information about the team’s services, phone André Kruger from the Zoutpansberg Fire Association at Tel (015) 517 8000 of Mauritz van der Vyver at 517 7100 during office hours.