Volunteer Wildfire Services
Encyclopedia
The Volunteer Wildfire Services is a group of volunteers in Cape Town
, South Africa
who assist local fire fighting agencies to suppress wildfires. Affiliated to the Table Mountain National Park
, the VWS is the only unit of its kind in South Africa.
The VWS has three main functions:
Funding is secured through various projects that allow the Unit to operate independently and manage their own funds and resources. The VWS forms partnerships with companies in order to survive financially.
Fire fighters are on standby for 24 hours a day, for 365 days of the year. As with any volunteer organization, members are able to assist with wildfire suppression at various levels. While some are only available on weekends or after hours, others can assist at any time of the day or night.
There are various sections within the Unit, including Active Fire Fighters, Logistical Support (Drivers, Caterers, Medics, Technical Support teams), Planners, Admin, and other important groups who ensure that the organization runs smoothly throughout the year.
The VWS has provided thousands of hours of fire duty to the TMNP and other landowners at no charge, and will continue to do so as a sign of their commitment to assisting the citizens of Cape Town with the saving of lives and property, and the conservation of the Fynbos
.
A new branch of the VWS was inaugurated in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch in 2009. It provides volunteer firefighting services to CapeNature
in the Jonkershoek
, Kogelberg
, Hottentots Holland and Limietberg nature reserves, an area of some 290 000 ha of montane fynbos.
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
who assist local fire fighting agencies to suppress wildfires. Affiliated to the Table Mountain National Park
Table Mountain National Park
Table Mountain National Park, previously known as the Cape Peninsula National Park, is a national park in Cape Town, South Africa, proclaimed on May 29, 1998, for the purpose of protecting the natural environment of the Table Mountain Chain, and in particular the rare fynbos vegetation...
, the VWS is the only unit of its kind in South Africa.
The VWS has three main functions:
- assist landowners with wildland fire suppressionWildland fire suppressionWildfire suppression refers to the firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts in wildland areas requires different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated areas...
- provide education and awareness programmes for school children, and
- provide training for private landowners in wildfire prevention and management techniques
Funding is secured through various projects that allow the Unit to operate independently and manage their own funds and resources. The VWS forms partnerships with companies in order to survive financially.
Fire fighters are on standby for 24 hours a day, for 365 days of the year. As with any volunteer organization, members are able to assist with wildfire suppression at various levels. While some are only available on weekends or after hours, others can assist at any time of the day or night.
There are various sections within the Unit, including Active Fire Fighters, Logistical Support (Drivers, Caterers, Medics, Technical Support teams), Planners, Admin, and other important groups who ensure that the organization runs smoothly throughout the year.
The VWS has provided thousands of hours of fire duty to the TMNP and other landowners at no charge, and will continue to do so as a sign of their commitment to assisting the citizens of Cape Town with the saving of lives and property, and the conservation of the Fynbos
Fynbos
Fynbos is the natural shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring in a small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly in winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate...
.
A new branch of the VWS was inaugurated in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch in 2009. It provides volunteer firefighting services to CapeNature
CapeNature
CapeNature is a governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wilderness areas and public nature reserves in Western Cape Province, South Africa.-West Coast:*Cederberg Wilderness Area...
in the Jonkershoek
Jonkershoek Nature Reserve
Jonkershoek Nature Reserve is a CapeNature nature reserve located approximately east of the town of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. It covers an area of approximately .-Description:...
, Kogelberg
Kogelberg Nature Reserve
Kogelberg Nature Reserve is a large and important nature reserve in the east of Cape Town, South Africa. With about 1600 plant species, it contains a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in the world.-Ecology:...
, Hottentots Holland and Limietberg nature reserves, an area of some 290 000 ha of montane fynbos.