Cape Winelands District Municipality sets aside R90m for firefighting efforts

The Cape Winelands District Municipality says it has put aside R90 million for firefighting efforts, as the province heads into the fire season.
 
It added that more than R1 million of this budget had already gone into the training of new firefighters.
 
Forty-two of those trainees graduated from the Cape Winelands Fire and Rescue Training Academy on Friday.

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Cape Winelands District Municipality Mayor Elna von Schlicht has expressed deep optimism and pride at a recent graduation ceremony, where dozens of newly trained firefighters officially joined the district’s fire services.
 
She said the ceremony underscored both the urgency of preparedness and the municipality’s commitment to community safety.
 
"Firefighting is a safety matter and it's everybody's business and we recruit our students from a number of local municipalities, and they will therefore go back to their local municipalities and serve their communities."
 
The graduates come from several municipalities, including Swartland, Overstrand, Garden Route and five from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).