City’s young firefighters receive their badges

29 May 2017

 

The City of Johannesburg’s Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Safety, Cllr Michael Sun, on Friday May 26 honoured 500 learners from across the city after they successfully completed an intensive basic firefighting and First Aid training programme recently.

 

The graduation ceremony, held at Wembley Stadium in Turffontein in Region F, marked the launch of the first-ever Schools Emergency Response Team (SERT) by the Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS).

By participating in the Fire and Life Safety Programme, which equipped them with the necessary skills to assist in emergency situations, the 500 learners have become their schools’ emergency response champions.

MMC Sun said the programme was the beginning of a new era that would see the City working closely with schools to not only expose their learners to life skills but also to create a safe environment in communities.

He said the City wanted to build resilient communities capable of dealing with any emergency.

“This programme was designed not only to teach learners basic firefighting and First Aid but also evacuation procedures, disaster management and life skills,” said MMC Sun.

Johannesburg EMS Executive Head Tshepo Makola said the City adopted the programme because of its belief that “safety begins at home”.

“We have taught the learners that safety comes first and we hope that they will impart what they have learnt during training to their families and communities,” Makola said.

He said the long-term goal was to see the programme included in the school curriculum.

One of the recipients of the honorary badges and certificates, Dornell Foxon, 15, of John Orr Secondary School, said he had learnt a lot about firefighting and First Aid and now knew what he needed to do in case of an emergency situation.

“What we learned was very practical and it will go a long way,” said Foxon.

Another graduate, 13-year-old Lotosha Willamson of Westbury Secondary School, said she had always admired the work of paramedics and firefighters.

“They save people’s lives and I hope that after I finish my matric I will join them and serve my community. I want to give people the gift of life,” she said

EMS offers bursaries to learners interested in becoming firefighters or paramedics.

“Through our bursary programme we have funded 14 students who now work with us. We have 11 students who are currently doing their second year," said Makola.