The City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate honoured staff from the Fire and Rescue Service at the mid-year awards which were held at the Roeland Street Fire Station. The awards are held twice a year.
Amongst the 18 valiant staff members awarded includes a fireman who delivered a baby and a platoon whose quick thinking saved a disabled resident from death.
These brave fire fighters received awards for personal achievements, work conduct, contribution to the City of Cape Town, leadership and initiative, and process improvement and innovation categories.
The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith lauded the Fire and Rescue staff’s “incredible work”, adding that they often go “beyond the call of duty to save lives and property.”
“While human lives are their priority, they are not adverse to saving some of our furry four-legged residents. Each staff member is commended for their dedication, their bravery and commitment to a job which requires much of them physically and emotionally,” Alderman Smith adds.
He went on to say that “Our fire fighters do much more and the categories do not truly reflect all of the invaluable contributions they make. With the awards we hope to recognise that this is their passion and not just another job.”
According to the City, the Lakeside 3 platoon received an award for leadership and initiative after they not only saved a disabled man from a fire, but they returned to rebuild a cupboard and replace a damaged bedside table.
“If it wasn’t for the situational awareness and swift action by the crew the occupant would have succumbed the fire and the structure destroyed. They followed this up by having a new cupboard built to replace the damaged bedside table. This is just one of the many acts of bravery which are all in a day’s work for our men and women in uniform,” said Alderman Smith.
Other awards went to fire fighter Jacques Swanepoel who helped to deliver a baby at the Goodwood Fire Station, Firefighter Vusumzi Mzimvubu for ensuring the service maintains a high level of efficiency, and Divisional Commander Jermaine Carelse for his work within the quality assurance section, the City adds.
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