Fire fighters are our unsung heroes. We take it for granted that in an emergency we will hear the siren and these gallant gentlemen will race to our rescue.
They certainly do not get enough recognition for the amazing work that they do. They deserve our support and should have the best equipment to enable them to do their jobs.
Too often they don’t have the correct resources. Nine months ago, a large part of the seaside town of Knysna was lost to a devastating fire which raged for days. The sad truth is, that had the fire teams had better equipment, many experts agree that the fire could have been contained far quicker.
The headlines of the local newspaper – The HeraldLive read: Knysna was not prepared. Local Firefighters were not equipped for a blaze of this scale. Quoting a Johannesburg volunteer fireman it was reported that: ‘If the Knysna fire department had had sufficient resources and the right equipment the blaze could have been stopped earlier. What they have is equipment o extinguish veld fires – nothing more. They are struggling because they don’t have the right equipment, and these are guys with more than 100 years of experience between them’.
Further afield the BBC News highlighted the tragedy that befell the Grenfell Towers on the 14th of June 2017 where more than 80 people lost their lives. Low water pressure together with a lack of extended breathing apparatus all contributed to the fact that the firefighters could not get to the upper levels.
Fire Fighters need to be given the most up to date equipment to ensure that not only can they protect themselves, but they can protect the lives and livelihood of the community within which they operate.
Imperial Armour focuses on saving lives by manufacturing to International Standards their flight suites, bunker suits and all accessories critical to fire fighting.
We have recently supplied full fighting gear to 2 recognized volunteer organisations, namely Vetus Schola / Helderberg Fire Watch and Drakenstein Fire / Farm watch in the Western Cape to do exactly that.
The continued drought in the Western Cape means that fires are happening on a far more regular basis and this is putting more lives at risk. Many of the firefighters are volunteers and they continue to put their lives at risk, no matter the danger. Their primary concern is to save lives and livelihoods.
These real-life heroes deserve the best equipment possible. Imperial Armour supplies the best and we are proud of the small contribution that we have made.
#firefighting heroes
