After 43 years of service, City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer, Ian Schnetler, retired on Wednesday afternoon.
Schnetler began his career just a few days after finishing his matric exams in 1979, where he attended his first big fire on New Year’s Eve that year in Tamboerskloof.
After initially being deployed to Roeland Street Fire Station, Schnetler served at a number of fire stations before being promoted to Fire Officer.
His promotion happened in January 1985, and at the time, he was the youngest ranked officer in the service.
Also read: Three children died in a Khayelitsha house fire this morning
IOL reports that Schnetler, reflecting on his journey, says that firefighting is his calling and that this has been his motivation for staying in his career for more than four decades.
“The different emergencies and challenges inspired me to continue to develop ways of helping and enabling staff to overcome them,” he says.
Schnetler, evaluating administration versus working out in the field, says: “With the training that you receive and the experience you build up over time, firefighting is much simpler, easier, more exciting and fun to do than sitting behind a desk.”
“If and when an opportunity arises, I try and get involved with actual firefighting just to once again experience the feeling of being an operational firefighter,” he continues.
Schnetler feels he has been privileged to manage “one of the proudest and best fire services in the country.”
“This can only be credited to the diligent and hard work of the team of firefighters, administrative staff and senior management who make it possible. Without them, we may not have been in the same position we are now,” Schnetler acknowledges.
Also read: The Volunteer Wildfire Services Open Day is back!
Alderman JP Smith, Mayco Member for Safety and Security, praised Schnetler and his contributions to our city’s Fire Service.
“Firefighters run into danger and there is no doubt that it is a calling. CFO Schnetler comes from a family of uniformed personnel and he has continued the proud and noble tradition of serving the city,” Smith says.
“He has stayed true to his calling, has shown courage under literal fire and has done the hard yards. His time in bunker gear may be over, but his time in the service will always be remembered. We wish him well on this next part of his journey.”
Also read:
Picture: News24