I’m learning to be a volunteer firefighter. And I’m almost ready to rumble!

Whoa…. Training with the Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) is heating up. I received my spanking new fire boots today. I side-eye the boots as reality hits. This is getting real.

The last two months have included a couple of training sessions hosted by VWS. Each session starts with a pack check to confirm you have everything needed on an active fire line deployment: At least four litres of water, a phone with a GPS app loaded, a headlamp, gloves, snacks, warm clothing and a helmet. We check each other’s headlamps and spare batteries. Once recruits like me are fully kitted with our uniforms, we’ll check each other’s boots, laces, flash hoods, helmets and goggles to ensure no flesh is exposed.

Recent training sessions included hikes, simulated scenarios and an online theory course in Basic Wildfire Management. I’m amazed at the knowledge being shared – who knew a flame was hollow? And that fires can stay active for months underground; so-called Zombie fires that pop up months later in peat soil.

We’ve been engraining our learnings in Saturday training scenarios where we discuss and plot fire attacks, do equipment drills, hone our communication skills and get to know our team members.

Speaking of which, we also had a proper social with a volunteer DJ, a mirror ball and everyone busting out their best moves. I haven’t had this much fun since the 90s! However, I do not doubt that things will get very serious the moment that we arrive at an active fire to do what we’ve been training to do.

But let me introduce my new bestie - my beater. A long wooden stick, crowned with an impressive rubber flap to smother surface flames.

Recruits get the dubious honour of carrying the heavier beaters to the fire line. Viewed at the foot of a mountain before the big trek, a beater looks comically harmless.

But about halfway up a mountain, it becomes possessed. It bounces up and down and grabs at everything. It tonks the volunteer behind you on the helmet and sends you flying as it trips you up. It’s a master teacher in endurance and patience. And I’m told it’s a great standing pad when the ground below you gets too hot.

My new bestie the beater recently joined me on a training hike with VWS to Muizenberg Peak and St. James Peak. A quick 11-kilometres. And once on top, Jarrod, my Red Helmet Crew Leader, drilled us in situational awareness at an active fire: Look Up, Look Down, Look Around.

Look up: Identify weather conditions, incoming choppers, falling branches and burning treetops.
Look down: Check for anything that could trip or impede, check slopes and identify safety zones and escape routes.

Look around: Scan for changes in the fire's behaviour. Keep track of your team members. Keep an eye out for rolling debris, animals and unstable structures.

It’s a lot like life, I suppose. When life heats up, look up and find strength in your higher power, your family, and your life purpose.

Look down - slow down, get intentional, take one step at a time and identify a safe space. Then look around - find your tribe and stick to them. And believe me, I’m planning on doing just that.