Working on Fire Programme (WoF)

The implemenatation of the programme resides with the Forest Fire Association, a non-profit oraganisation, located in Mpumalanga.  Working on Fire Programme (WoF) has key organisational factors in place generating success during the fire season through three regional offices in Nelspruit, Stellenbosch and Shafton with 44 firebases supporting 22 handcrews and eight co-ordinating and dispatching units.  Nelspruit services Gauteng, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga; Stellenbosch, in turn, supports the Western and Southern Cape; and, Shafton looks after Kwazulu- Natal, Free State and Eastern Cape. 

Beneficiaries for the programme are not pooled from the local communities they serve as is traditional, but instead are encouraged to apply through a series of advertisements in local newspapers, taxi ranks and community centres.  Potential candidates are then put through a series of physical tests in order to limit the field down to 30.  The individuals who make it through the grueling physical challenges show a willingness to take advantage of the opportunity presented, and who illustrate character traits that exhibit potential leadership qualities and wish to serve the community.      

The impact of wildfires on the economy costs millions of Rand annually through the loss of life and livelihoods resulting in severe implications for the commercial and private sectors, particularly those of a lower socioecomic statra, and most vulunerable to catastrophic natural events.  WoF operates as a conglomeraton of multi-departmental government and private sector response organisations specifically intended to address the devastating effects of fire in informal, rural settlements, while working in tandem with the National Disaster Management Unit.  Prior to the programme, no national baseline dataset was available to measure the total number of fires, hectares affected, value of damage and livelihoods affected, etc. The reporting structure currently in place will, in the long term, substantially contribute towards the ability to measure the affects of unwanted fires and create a more accurate picture of the cost of fire devastation.
 

Innovation

Working on Fire has taken the task of fighting fires from a defensive mechanism and turned it into a pro-active, offensive tool used to mitigate the chances of wildfires during the dry season.  Data on the impact of wild fires is now measure, coolected and used to provide information to provincial governments.  The organisation is also a first in the country as it creates employment for young people through established channels in fire fighting that also provide the chance for promotion with additional education and skills training provided by WoF.     

Effectiveness

Currently 891 persons are employed within the programme. To date, 1193 unemployed men and women have being trained.  Of these, 95 firefighters have been promoted to crew leadership positions after passing internationally recognised level one Crew Leader training. Crew leaders are responsible for the crew’s  safety, operation, discipline, morale, fitness and general wellbeing. Of these, 26 have gone on to complete intense level two Crew Leader training, and subsequently, 10 level two Crew Leaders have been placed into positions as trainee regional managers, physical training officers, safety officers and transport management.

Poverty Impact

Crew leaders, fire fighters and regional managers earn on average R2 050, R975 and R5 000 per month, respectively.  Previously unemployed people have been exposed to new opportunities because of the training they received, and some of them have left the programme to go on to join the ranks of the South African National Parks and other environmental organisations where they utilise skills they have acquired at the Working for Fire programme.

Sustainability

A budget of R19.5 million for 2003/04, R35 million for 2004/05, R40 million for 2005/06 and R44.5 million for 2006/07 has been set aside by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.  Oversight is provided by WfW and the National Disaster Management Unit in Department of Provincial and Local Government.

Replication

The model can be rolled out to provinces that experience devastating fires where the programme does not exist, and its track record of government partnership could help reach new areas.

Partnerships

National Departments:

• Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
• National Disaster Management Unit in the Department of Provincial and Local Government
• National Treasury
• Department of Environment Affairs and Tourism
• Department of Agriculture
• South African National Parks
• Cape Nature (Provincial Department)

Private Sector

• Forest Fire Association  (Mpumalanga)
• Fire Fighting Association (Mpumalanga)
• Fire Protection Association (Kwa-Zulu Natal)

Local Municipalities across the country