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10 March 2025 Media Release: Garden Route DM Fire & Rescue Services Educates Hoogekraal Community on Fire Safety

Media Release: Garden Route DM Fire & Rescue Services Educates Hoogekraal Community on Fire Safety

For Immediate Release
10 March 2025

Hoogekraal, situated northeast of Glentana, was visited by the Garden Route District Municipality’s Fire & Rescue Services on Saturday, 8 March 2025. The annual visit is part of GRDM’s ongoing commitment to wildfire prevention and community safety.

Senior Firefighter Jonathan van Vuuren educating community members from Hoogekraal about fires and the risks they pose to the safety of everyone.

There is a great deal of dry grass, shrubs, and large trees surrounding Hoogekraal, contributing to its increased fire risk. Wildfires are also a threat along the coastline east of the settlement, stretching to Herolds Bay and westward to Glentana.

With fire’s traditional use in the community for heating and cooking, GRDM Fire & Rescue Services organized an awareness and education session.

Key topics covered:

  • Increasing community awareness of fire risks
  • Differentiating the fire hazards present in the local environment
  • Providing guidelines for safeguarding the immediate area around homes
  • Clearing and securing areas to prevent fire spread
  • Developing designated areas for making fires and disposing of ash
  • Educating children on the dangers of playing with matches or ignition sources
  • Understanding the role of wind in fire spread
  • Safe methods to suppress small fires
  • Identifying potential fire fuel sources around timber structures
  • Maintaining safe distances between structures to prevent fire from spreading
  • Additional information was also shared on the safe use of fire within homes.

Senior Firefighter Jonathan van Vuuren (pictured) led the session, engaging both young and old community members. Residents participated keenly in the activities and demonstrations, gaining valuable skills to protect themselves and their homes from fire-related disasters.

Mayor Stroebel commended firefighters for their ongoing efforts to educate communities. He said: “The GRDM Fire & Rescue Services remains committed to educating, and therefore empowering Garden Routers with the knowledge and tools to reduce fire risks and respond effectively in emergencies. It is also of critical importance for us to reach the outlaying areas where many communities do not have access to information”.

Feature image: Johnathan van Vuuren does a practical demonstration of ‘mopping-up’ a scene.

ENDS