The group of 22 had their graduation ceremony on Friday, 3 December 2021 and will report for duty as fully fledged firefighters, just in time for the warmer months and the related increase in vegetation fires.

The City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service officially welcomed 22 new recruits to the ranks recently at their graduation ceremony.

The learner firefighters successfully completed their prescribed introductory training.

Their training programmes included Local Protocol Induction followed by Respiratory Protection and the Advanced First Responder medical qualification.

They 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.

Previously, the qualifications were only accessible via the South African Emergency Service Institute (SAESI).

‘What is unique about this graduation is 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,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

The graduates were 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. By doing this, we are investing in their career development and increasing the standard of service delivery to our communities,’ added Alderman Smith.

Source: City Of Cape Town