Several veteran firefighters who would be going into retirement were honoured by the City of Tshwane while in the process new ones were introduced to the community.
City of Tshwane executive mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya photo by Dimakatso Modipa
The occasion was held at the Moretele Park pleasure resort in Mamelodi.
The city of Tshwane emergency services graduates photo by Dimakatso Modipa
City Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya attended the occasion and made it amply clear that firefighters are an integral part of any community as they save lives.
Directly addressing the firefighters, Dr Moya said the following:
“You have chosen a life of service, discipline and courage and you have already endured physical and mental pressure and we honour your commitment.”
Moya further said that firefighters are “the people who run towards danger while everybody else is running away from it.”
MMC for Community Safety Hannes Coetzee said the following:
“To be intentional means working with a purpose; successful leaders are intentional because they know what they are doing abd why they are doing it.”
Coetzee acknowledged the fact that firefighters are putting their lives at risk to save the residents of the City of Tshwane.
“This is not just a job but a calling to save the City of Tshwane and its residents,” said Coetzee.
An elated best student of the firefighting course Ernest Radingwane from Mamelodi told Tshwane Talks that he is ready to serve the community of Mamelodi and that winning the award as the best student of the CoT firefighting training course makes him very happy.
“Being a firefighter is a very good and important career,” he said.
Kwena Semole from Soshanguve also graduated as a firefighter and told Tshwane Talks that the training course was very tough; that at some point she thought of quitting but persevered as she has a passion for working as a firefighter.
Ecstatic Neo Dibakwane explained that he graduated in the Firefighter 1 and 2 programme which entails general rescue and high angle rescue and that he was very happy to have transitioned from emergency medical operations to the firefighting department.
Chief of Emergency Services in the City of Tshwane Moshema Mosia, explained that the day’s event comprised four sub-events, namely the passing out of 37 former emergency services personnel who are now fully trained to be firefighters, the conferment of ranks whereby 62 emergency services personnel would receive promotions, to honour those EMS who would be retiring and do so in a decent manner, to unveil the five rapid intervention vehicles which can fight fire and also be used for rescue operations.
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