GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - George Fire Brigade played an important role in containing the recent fires in the Overberg. In reaction to questions of George Herald, the municipality said the George Fire Brigade received a request for assistance from Overstrand Fire Chief Lester Smith at midday on 30 Tuesday January.
A fire crew consisting of seven officials and three vehicles was immediately dispatched.
The team, consisting of Station Commander Santa Sternsdorf, firefighters JD Troskie, B Bussack, L Julies, W Oktober and junior firefighters J Bernardo and K Johnson, arrived about 20:30 that night and were immediately sent to Pringle Bay Hangklip where a fire line was approaching a residential area.
They managed to stop the fire line at about 02:00, before any residential structures were truly under threat. The crew were back on the same fire line by 07:00 the next morning (Wednesday) when the wind picked up on Hangklip Road and flare-ups had to be dealt with. For the rest of the day, they worked in mop-up operations to prevent any flare-ups on that line, using City of Cape Town resources.
George Fire Brigade also provided a large 35 000-litre water tanker and a skid unit to assist.
The tanker served as a hydrant point for all of the other firefighting vehicles, providing large volumes of water to protect the structures.
The skid unit was used to react quickly to flare-ups and running fires, supported by the fire engine.
George Fire Brigade helping at Skilpad Klip. Photo: George Fire crew
On Thursday 1 February, after an early morning incident command meeting attended by Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell and Overstrand Mayor Annelie Rabie, the George team was relocated to Pearly Beach, where they arrived in the afternoon.
The crew worked through the rest of the day and night protecting residential structures.
After a brief rest of five hours they continued with the job.
High winds made working the fire line extremely difficult and the fire jumped the R43.
Station Commander Santa Sternsdorf established a command post and backup resources were requested from City of Cape Town and Stellenbosch.
The original crew were relieved on Friday 2 February at 08:00, when George Platoon Commander Michiel Troskie, firefighters J Fortuin, R Micheals, N Rossouw, D Muller and junior firefighters H Pienaar and Gart Claassen replaced them.
The new crew continued with damp-down operations in Pearly Beach and dealt with another threatened jump over the R43. They managed to hold off the fire and were released to return to George on Saturday 3 February at midday.
ImageGeorge Fire Brigade helping at Skilpad Klip. Photo: George Fire crew caption
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