A group of 22 learner firefighters who had their graduation ceremony on Friday, December 3 will report for duty as fully-fledged firefighters, just in time for the warmer months and the related increase in vegetation fires.
According to the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service officially the 22 new recruits successfully completed their prescribed introductory training. Their training programmes included Local Protocol Induction followed by Respiratory Protection and the Advanced First Responder medical qualification.
The new recruits also completed International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) accredited courses that are aligned to the respective National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, being the international benchmarks for professional firefighters.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith said the unique thing about the graduation was that these internationally recognised professional qualifications are now being issued directly by the City’s Fire and Rescue Training Academy.
“The academy is the first local government Fire Service Training institute to receive IFSAC recognised accreditation within the country.
“Apart from SAESI, there is only one other private training provider in South Africa that is recognised by IFSAC. It really is a remarkable achievement,” Smith said.
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The graduates were also joined by 21 staff members who received their certificates for successfully completing the NFPA 1041 Standard for Fire Service Instructor: Professional Qualifications at Fire Service Instructor 1 level.
“These officers can now facilitate training for our more than 1 000 staff members in the Fire and Rescue Service, which means that more staff can benefit from skills development and continuation training programmes, but more importantly, internationally recognised qualifications,” Smith added.
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Picture: COCT