By Staff Reporter
MADEIRA VILLAGE-Maruleng WOF heroes are deployed to assist in fighting veld fire in Canada.
The government-funded program, Working on Fire has deployed a team of 200 firefighters and 15 management personnel to the Canadian Province of Alberta to assist in firefighter suppression after it recorded more than 500 wildfires.
A total of 27 firefighters from Limpopo Province were deployed and the team led by Operational Manager Sello Kobe from Madeira Village and a Crew Leader for Working on fire from Sekororo Based Kgaugelo Mpuru from the Willows Village, Emerence Machubeng from Madeira Village and Silas Motebetjane from Calais village in Maruleng Municipality are among the employees.
Sekororo crew leader for WOF, Mpuru said he is excited about being part of the deployment and is looking forward to saving lives and protecting the environment. “I hope to gain more experience in using different tools to fight fires as this is my first deployment,” he added.
The 200 firefighters and 15 managers departed for Canada on a Chartered flight from the Kruger International Airport on Sunday 3 June. The deployment will see the team assist firefighters in Canada for 35 days. The team comprises pump-trained firefighters who have a valid yellow card and have more than three years of actual firefighting experience and are physically fit.
A quarter of the selected firefighter are women, this includes two members of the management team and highlights of WOFs commitment to diversity and inclusion. A number of the team members have previous international firefighting experience which further enhances their expertise in tackling complex fire situations said Ofentse Letswala Limpopo Spokesperson for WOF.
Canada is under tremendous attack from the terrible wildfires that are causing panic and climate change depression not only to Canadian communities but to neighbouring countries like the USA and the world. Through our Mzantsis EPWP PROGRAM by the national department of Environment and Fisheries, we are proud to be sending the second group of 100 young dedicated firefighters to a country for more backup. This is the very same team which in past weeks was trending on all social media platforms about their dancing and singing vibe that shook the world and brought hope to the devastated Canadians. The team is currently doing well in bringing hope for Canadians and we are proud of them.
