Fire fighting teams to be honoured at Newlands on Saturday | Western Cape Government

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Fire fighting teams to be honoured at Newlands on Saturday

12 March 2015

On Saturday, 14 March 2015, representatives of Disaster Management entities responsible for fighting fires across the province, will be honoured for their brave efforts at Newlands rugby stadium.

The various entities have been doing remarkable work attending to devastating fires across the Western Cape since early December. Last week they fought a terrible fire that raged across the peninsula, ultimately destroying more than 5 000 hectares of vegetation.

The entities will be specially honored before the kickoff of Saturday’s Super Rugby match between the Stormers and the Chiefs.

Disaster Management entities involved in the operations of last week will be represented on Saturday. These include:

  • The City of Cape Town (CoCT)
  • Drakenstein Municipality
  • West Coast District Municipality
  • Cape Winelands District Municipality
  • Overberg District Municipality
  • Overstrand Municipality
  • Table Mountain National Park
  • Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS)
  • FFA Aviation
  • Working on Fire (WoF)
  • Cape Nature (CN)
  • The South African Airforce

Over 400 representatives from the various entities will be present at the Stadium.

They will be honoured on the field just before kickoff at 15:00 on Saturday.

Premier Helen Zille and the Acting Minster of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anton Bredell will also be present.

We encourage all spectators attending the game to use this opportunity to show their appreciation for the efforts of the brave men and women who continuously put their lives on the line to bring fires under control and to ensure the safety of the surrounding communities and members of the public affected.

While we acknowledge the tremendous efforts of last week,  these teams will continue fighting many more fires and other disasters in the province in the future and it is crucial to continue providing them with the support they need.  

Saturday’s event has  been made possible by Western Province Rugby under the leadership of Mr Thelo Wakefield and the Western Cape Government would like to extend its appreciation to the rugby union for making the stadium and Saturday’s event available to pay tribute  and show gratitude to the heroes and heroines of the Disaster Management environment.

The Disaster Management Teams will be at the Newlands Stadium from 14:00, and will be on the field by 14:40. We encourage all spectators attending the match on Saturday to be seated before their field appearance and for the tribute at 14:45.

Media Enquiries: 

Michael Mpofu
Spokesperson for Premier Helen Zille
Cell: 071 564 5427
Tel: 021 483 4584
E-mail: michael.mpofu@westerncape.gov.za