Fire prevention outreach in Knysna

KNYSNA NEWS - Thousands of Knysna residents in various communities have attended fire awareness training campaigns.

Western Cape community fire awareness officer Rayganah Rhoda of Working on Fire (WoF), conducted the workshops hosted in Karatara, Bongani; Khayalethu, Rheenendal, Nekkies, Wilderness and Concordia.

This marked the beginning of a series of fire awareness, door-to-door, and risk reduction campaigns that will take place across the Garden Route.

Close to 200 community members attended these workshops over the period of 11 to 15 September, 2017.

Rhoda says, “Fire safe workshops increase the awareness of fire risks and how communities can mitigate these risks as it is vital to educate communities and children in this regard. The focus of these workshops was on fire management plans, evacuation, risk assessments and the importance of risk reduction.”

After attending a workshop, Rhoda says communities do a risk assessment and in order for them to now mitigate the risk of fires, remove or reduce the risks identified.

“A well informed community will ensure a safe and speedy evacuation plan which could result in the minimal loss of lives as well as the safety of everyone,” he said.

“The value of fire awareness and fire safe preparation around dwellings cannot be over-emphasised. The WoF programmes, fire awareness initiatives in schools and in the community have reached more than two million people over the past five years in South Africa,” explains Rhoda.

Various communities in Knysna are taught about fire prevention and given fire awareness training by Working on Fire (WoF).

In Knysna 27 similar fire awareness initiatives (13 community and 14 at schools) have taken place over the past two years reaching 2,664 people.

During the winter season, WoF did presentations that highlighted the dangers of fires and how to reduce fire risks in communities. “Our firefighters will demonstrate how to construct fire breaks and do fuel reduction which help eliminates fire spread in case of a fire.

Teams across the province will be actively clearing and constructing fire belts, conducting prescribed burns, and clearing fuel loads to mitigate the risk in areas which are fire prone.

“We urge communities to be more vigilant during this fires season and not to start unnecessary fires particularly during dry days. People are also asked to remove unnecessary rubble on their properties which can pose a serious fire risk and houses next to grasslands need to ensure that there is sufficient fire breaks between their properties and these grasslands.

“We also ask people to cut down overhanging tree branches close to their properties and also to clean their gutters as the leaves that end up in these gutters also can pose a fire risk.”