Coupled with infrastructure challenges that increase the risk of fires, including wire exposure after instances of cable theft, and loadshedding-related power surges, South African homes and businesses need robust systems in place to reduce the risk.

Tim Reynolds, Managing Director at MASC Solutions, a division of Stallion Integrated and a leading provider of fire management solutions, says that it is best practice to start by conducting comprehensive risk assessments and then design solutions that seamlessly integrate fire detection, suppression, and other building systems to maximise reliability and responsiveness.

“This combination of leading-edge technology, product certifications, and experience ensures that every project is planned correctly at inception according to client requirements, whilst meeting SANS standards,” adds Reynolds.

Residential, commercial, and industrial properties require industry-specific needs, with each carrying distinct risks and requirements to ensure optimal protection. Residential estates require reliable and user-friendly systems that minimise false alarms while ensuring rapid, clear alerting for occupants. Commercial buildings, on the other hand, demand systems that prioritise early detection, swift evacuation, and seamless integration with access control and HVAC systems. In the case of industrial facilities, which often involve high-value assets, hazardous materials, or process-critical areas, specialised suppression systems are installed, including solutions such as inert gas, clean-agent, or foam-based technologies.

By thoroughly assessing every project, MASC ensures that every solution, whether a simple detection or a full gas suppression solution, is designed to suit the unique fire load and operational environments, with the goal of protecting life and property according to industry standards.

Despite many businesses already having fire detection and suppression systems in place, Reynolds notes that ongoing maintenance, system testing, and system integration remain a significant challenge.

“Fire detection and suppression systems cannot simply be installed and forgotten – they require continuous inspection, calibration, and certification to ensure compliance with both SANS and international standards,” he says. “As such, MASC offers structured maintenance and testing programmes that are proactive rather than reactive.”

The human element remains key to effective fire safety, where even the most advanced systems rely on informed, trained personnel to respond correctly in an emergency. MASC provides on-site training to its clients’ safety and maintenance teams on system operation,

evacuation procedures, and response protocols. Its systems include intuitive user interfaces and clear alarm zoning to assist quick decision-making, with system simplicity and reliability ensuring that human operators can act decisively without confusion during critical moments.

“True protection against fires goes beyond simply meeting standards. It is about preserving what matters most – lives and livelihoods. When safety becomes part of business culture rather than a checklist, resilience becomes inevitable,” concludes Reynolds.

The post Why fire safety can no longer be ignored in South Africa appeared first on ProtectionWeb.

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.

The post Fidelity fire service is unlawful, says City of Cape Town appeared first on ProtectionWeb.

Once a fire is detected the Fogmaker system generates a high-pressure mist of water mixed with 3% aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) to suppress the fire in seconds. The AFFF is meant to prevent the fire recurring after the dousing.

“In essence, our solution attacks the three components of the fire triangle, namely heat, oxygen and fuel,” explained Managing Director John Russell. “We call it the Fogmaker Triple Action effect.”

The Fogmaker is a mechanical device without electrical wiring to enable the system. If a fire occurs in the engine compartment, a trip line burns through, causing the pressure to drop, and this activates the fire suppressant.

According to Russell, the mechanical system comprises a small pressurised piston accumulator containing water (H2O) and nitrogen (N2), coupled to 8 mm stainless steel piping with patented nozzles installed within the engine compartment.

The Fogmaker system is compact and smartly engineered to be installed in any orientation inside space constrained machines and vehicles. This applies particularly to the military, marine, mining, commercial, industrial, as well as freight and passenger transport sectors including airports and harbours.

“At the previous Africa Aerospace & Defence event, our daily live demonstrations attracted much interest,” said Russell. “Our team ignited diesel fuel in a mock engine compartment in which gas temperature rose to 800°C before the Fogmaker was manually activated to extinguished the fire successfully in seconds.”

This demonstration highlighted the total flooding capability of water-mist technology, as well as the ability to integrate the system into OEM equipment to ensure safe operation.

More than 250 000 Fogmaker units, designed and manufactured in Sweden, have been installed in 50 countries around the world since 1995. Fogmaker South Africa is the sole distributor for Southern Africa, with representative offices in several cities in South Africa, Zambia and Botswana, as well as distributor partners in Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.

Manufactured according to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards, the system has been certified by globally recognised authorities to meet global fire suppression standards.

Among its global certifications and approvals are the United Nations UN R-107 Vehicle Registration, the Australian AS5062 standards, Sweden’s PCR 197/183 Swedish Fire Protection Association and the SMA, Swedish Maritime Administration. Fogmaker also holds approval from the Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa and the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).

The post Kill fire with Fogmaker appeared first on ProtectionWeb.

WOF-Kishugu JV Limpopo spokesperson, Ofentse Letswalo said over 500 firefighters stationed at 26 bases in the province will participate in the training at their bases.

“So far, Mogalakwena; Molemole; Mapungubwe; Tzaneen and Soekmekaar have successfully completed their Yellow Card Training Assessments and are considered ready and prepared for the winter fire season,” Letswalo said.

According to Letswalo, the province is expecting a busy fire season compared to previous years.

Letswalo said the winter fire season starts from June to October, annually, however, WOF Limpopo has already dispatched ground teams to suppress over 30 wildfires.

“The firefighters attached to the Working on Fire Limpopo will be assessed in specialised firefighting techniques, theoretical knowledge, snake identification, and awareness during the yellow card training. The training will also include WOF standard fitness, which involves a 2.4km run; press-ups; sit-ups, and pull-ups within a set timeframe,” Letswalo said. 

Celebrating 20 years of sustainability, the Working on Fire Programme is part of the South African Government’s initiative to create jobs and alleviate poverty. 

Today, WOF employs more than 5000 young men and women, who have been fully trained as veld firefighters and are stationed in over 200 bases throughout South Africa.

The post Limpopo Working on Fire prepares for winter fire season appeared first on ProtectionWeb.

The number of overall incidents went up by 15%.

Ahead of International Firefighters Day on Saturday, the City of Cape Town said the summer period had proven to be one of the most challenging.

There were 20164 overall incidents from October last year to this April, compared to 17570 incidents in the same period.

The city recorded 10507 vegetation fires, 1335 informal residential fires and 1004 formal residential fires between last October and April this year.

Cape Town contracts two helicopters and a spotter plane as aerial support during summer.

“During the summer of 2022/23, the helicopters logged 68 hours and the spotter plane 38. Preliminary indications are that since 1 December 2023, the helicopters logged at least 280 hours, and the spotter plane 132 hours.”

City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith said the fire statistics confirmed that it was one of the busiest summer periods on record.

“While, the number of residential fires saw a slight decrease, it is cold comfort to those who lost loved ones and everything they owned. Throughout the challenges, our firefighters have stood tall, and I applaud their bravery and commitment. The city will continue to invest in our Fire and Rescue Service for the benefit of our residents, but also those wearing the uniform and working hard to help keep everyone safe.”

The post Busiest summer on record for Cape Town firefighters appeared first on ProtectionWeb.