Wahl Bartmann, CEO of Fidelity Services Group, and John Smit, CEO of SSG Holdings, were hoisted into the air for an unfiltered conversation about leadership, risk, and the future of South Africa’s emergency services. The stunt highlighted the scale of Fidelity SecureFire’s frontline capabilities and the strength of the new partnership between Fidelity and SSG, which is reshaping the risk solution industry, Fidelity said in a statement.

“From up here, you see everything differently, the risks, the possibilities, and the responsibility,” said Bartmann during the aerial interview. “This is more than an investment in equipment; it’s a declaration that we will rise to protect South Africans when it matters most.”

The aerial stunt also honoured the daily courage of first responders who regularly work at great heights to save lives.

The event comes just weeks after Fidelity Services Group acquired a majority shareholding in SSG Holdings in a strategic partnership that is transforming South Africa’s integrated security and emergency services landscape.

The 32-metre hydraulic platform ladder can reach the 10th floor of most buildings. With its 400 kg-capacity rescue basket and advanced reach, it brings global standards of readiness into the private sector, extending Fidelity SecureFire’s ability to respond to high-rise and complex urban fires, making it the country’s most comprehensive private emergency response provider, Fidelity said.

The ladder joins SecureFire’s national fleet of 32 fire engines and water tankers, 34 Rapid Intervention Units, and 600 first responders across 19 regional offices.

“By bringing Fidelity and SSG together, we’ve created South Africa’s most advanced private protection capability,” said Bartmann. “It’s about much more than business; it’s about national readiness.”

Fidelity SecureFire is a full-spectrum fire services solution with offices across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape. Every Fidelity SecureFire deployment is backed by the Fidelity Fire National Command Centre, a 24/7 operations hub using real-time data, GIS mapping, and fleet analytics to ensure optimal coordination and resource deployment.

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Fidelity SecureFire, a subscription-based private firefighting service, launched in June in Cape Town. It has been operating in Gauteng since 2023. It’s also active in Durban, East London, Gqeberha and Bloemfontein.

On its website, the company describes itself as “reengineering the future of fire protection in South Africa through scale, technology, and an unwavering obsession with speed, trust, and precision”.

But the City of Cape Town’s chief fire officer, Clinton Manuel, said he wrote to Fidelity in May informing the company that the service was “unregulated”.

The City is opposing the operation of private firefighting services in its jurisdiction, considering it “unlawful and constitutionally impermissible”, said Manuel.

“We have no mandate from our citizens to outsource the fire and emergency function to private entities for their commercial gain and will not be entering into any sort of agreements with Fidelity,” said Manuel.

He confirmed that Fidelity is not linked to the City’s emergency call centre nor the Fire Service Command and Control Centre.

“They seem to be self-responding, but like any citizen, they have a duty to report fires to the legislative authority as soon as they become aware of an incident,” said Manuel.

The City’s fire service has not been receiving reports of fires from Fidelity, yet Fidelity has at times been first on the scene of a fire or accident, he said.

He said that City incident commanders have been instructed to ask Fidelity staff to leave the scene of a fire or other emergencies as having “unregulated and unauthorised service providers in attendance at fires” would undermine “managing emergency incidents safely and effectively”.

Manuel warned that Law Enforcement would be called to remove them.

He added that no one is permitted to use municipal fire hydrants other than the municipal fire service.

He said the City’s Fire and Rescue Service has agreements in place with district municipalities and the Western Cape government, and a fleet of over 130 firefighting vehicles.

“This, combined with our available staff, proves that we do not need assistance from private, unregulated entities purporting to be professional firefighters,” said Manuel.

Gauteng

Private firefighting services are gaining traction in Gauteng. In 2022, Discovery launched its private fire service in Johannesburg.

However, the City of Tshwane recently initiated court proceedings against private firefighting providers. The City filed papers in order “to enforce compliance with applicable legislation”, it said in a statement.

The City of Tshwane said that private fire services were operating without “legal authority, regulatory approval, or formal agreements with the municipality in direct contravention of national and local legislation governing emergency services”.

The City said the operations present challenges for the City’s command and control structures during emergencies, “compromise incident scene management, draw water from municipal fire hydrants, which violates city bylaws”.

The DA said in a statement following the City’s decision to go to court that “instead of trying to abolish private firefighting services, the City of Tshwane should instead aim for appropriate regulations while addressing its own capacity issues”.

Fidelity responds

Fidelity responded to GroundUp’s questions with a press statement. Wahl Bartmann, CEO of Fidelity Services Group, denied their services were unlawful. He said Fidelity is “confident that no existing laws prohibit or restrict the lawful provision of private firefighting services”.

Bartmann said that Fidelity SecureFire is not a replacement for municipal fire services but is “complementary”.

“We respond only when formally engaged through contractual agreements – similar to how private security firms operate. Our customers choose us voluntarily, seeking enhanced protection tailored to their specific needs,” he said.

He said that Fidelity would continue delivering its fire protection service despite resistance from municipalities.

Fidelity is expanding to Stellenbosch, Paarl, Worcester and Hermanus this July. Within the next few months, it will expand to Polokwane, Pietermaritzburg, Nelspruit, Richards Bay and other areas.

Written by Liezl Human for GroundUp and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.

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