Working on Fire Crew leader at Cata Base in the Eastern Cape, Yanda Stuurman, says being in Canada was a lifetime opportunity. Stuurman, 32, from Katberg, is among the firefighters who recently returned from their Canada Deployment.
“I gained a lot of experience and new skills when fighting fires in Canada,” Stuurman said. “Although it was not easy, because in that area we were dealing mostly with underground fires – unlike the ones we suppress in SA.”
She said they had to use different tools and techniques in fighting those fires.
“We were digging holes in the ground in order to reach the fire and that needed a lot of hard work and teamwork,” she said.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment sent 109 firefighters and management personnel to Manitoba, Canada to boost the country’s capacity to fight raging fires there. Among them, seven firefighters and two managers were from the Eastern Cape.
Stuurman, 32, joined the programme in 2010. She said the past 10 years has given her more than enough experience and skills and these helped her a lot when she was in Canada.
She says she’ll use her pay from Canada to pay for her sister’s school fees, extend her mother’s house and save for her children.
- Nthabiseng Mokone is the communications officer for Working on Fire.
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