WHEN it comes to veldfires, it is not a question of whether another fire will take place, but rather when – and that is what people need to keep in mind if they want to prevent devastating fires in the future.
These are the words of the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association (SCFPA) area manager, Dirk Smit, after witnessing the damage caused by recent veldfires in St Francis Bay, which destroyed more than 1 000ha of land.
This followed just a little more than a year after eight homes were burnt to the ground and four severely damaged when a fire spread through a section of the holiday town. In December 2018, another fire ravaged 13 homes in the town.
According to Smit, prevention is key and this is exactly what the SCFPA specialises in: helping its members to prevent and prepare for future wildfires.
The SCFPA is a registered non-profit company that operates in numerous areas, including the Langkloof (Misgund, Louterwater, Joubertina), Baviaanskloof, Tsitsikamma, Central Karoo District and the whole Garden Route.
Smit emphasised that the organisation is not a fire fighting service, but rather focuses on the prevention of fires, fire awareness and fire safety education.
“We give advice to our members about all aspects of veld and bushfire prevention. We also give advice to landowners on how they can protect their assets against such fires.
“Our members are also supplied with guidance on how to comply with the relevant legislature,” Smit explained.
“We aim to empower our members within their communities by creating awareness around the risks of fires. This in turn helps them to act proactively to minimise the vulnerability of their assets and enables them to act as first responders to fire incidents and integrated fire services.
“This way, our communities are safer and more prepared in the case of a fire. By creating an empowering framework and greater awareness, fewer ignitions will lead to less spreading and a more effective suppression of veldfires,” he added.
“We also help with the planning and execution of controlled fires. We have several years’ experience and are appointed by major organisations, such as SANParks to execute some of their controlled fires or to help with the planning thereof. We were also involved in the 2018 Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma fires and the Knysna fires in 2017.”
Smit mentioned that although their organisation is not a firefighting service, they do offer resources against bigger fires at a cost.
“We have access to 13 Working on Fire (WoF) teams and can send them to veld and bushfires at the request of a landowner or local and district municipalities.
“We can also deliver services to the fire department, when it comes to veldfire-related activities.”
He recalled the tragedy of the Knysna fires almost four years ago and said that during the aftermath, he would look at the damaged landscape and a feeling of sadness would overwhelm him because people tend to forget about prevention very quickly and become complacent.
“What saddens us is when landowners, communities and institutions don’t listen to advice or warnings.
“It is discouraging for someone in this industry when you create awareness and write reports about the importance of acting preventatively, but then people still spend more money on resources to fight fires rather than working on preventing them in the first place,” Smit explained.
“People forget and think it won’t happen again. Meanwhile, the veld grows back and the risk is the same as before.
“We just want everyone to remember that prevention is of the utmost importance.”
If anyone is interested in joining the organisation or needs advice on fire prevention and safety, they can contact Smit on 072 785 2742 or send an e-mail to: managerfpa@gmail.com.
Elske Le Roux can also be contacted via email: opsupofficer.scfpa@gmail.com.
