Media Release: GRDM and Stakeholders ready to host the 11th Toughest Firefighter Alive – South Africa (TFA-SA) 2026 competition

For immediate release
30 April 2026

Today, 30 April 2026, the Executive Mayor of the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), Ald. Marais Kruger, announced and declared the Garden Route as official host of the Toughest Firefighter Alive South Africa (TFA-SA) 2026 competition.

The official launch took place and was hosted at the Garden Route Mall in George where the event will be held for the 2nd year in a row.

This year’s event signifies the loyal and ongoing partnership of the GRDM with the Firefighters for Excellence Foundation and the Garden Route Mall to host the 11th competition in George.

The date is set for 01 to 03 October 2026.

“Following the success of the 2025 event, the GRDM, in partnership with the Garden Route Mall, is honoured to once again host this prestigious national competition,” Mayor Kruger said. He further explained that the event signifies and celebrates the courage, strength, and dedication of firefighters who serve our communities daily, while promoting professional excellence, fitness, tourism, and regional economic growth.

In addition, Mayor Kruger, while addressing stakeholders present, reminded the public to also look forward to an exciting Mini Toughest Firefighter competition, creating an opportunity for families and communities to share in this inspiring experience. “We encourage the public to watch for registration dates and we look forward to welcoming firefighters and visitors from across South Africa to the Garden Route for another outstanding event. On behalf of the Garden Route District Municipality, I proudly and officially declare the venue and dates and warmly invite the nation to join us in George this October,” Mayor Kruger highlighted.

The Garden Route Mall is the center of retail in the region and is the largest shopping centre along the Garden Route. Set strategically next to the N2 and close to other attractions in George, spectators and competitors will enjoy a safe space with the picturesque Outeniqua Mountains in the background.

Stakeholder representatives who were also present from the Garden Route Mall include: Rion Olivier (General Manager) and Sonja Anderson (Sales & Event Coordinator), the GRDM team, including, Deon Stoffels (Chief Fire Officer), Emile Conrad (Senior Firefighter and former South African Toughest Firefighter and representatives from Metro Emergency Medical Services (EMS), including Aphiwe Ndukbini (defending champion from the Overberg), as well as Rescue Manager in the Garden Route, Jethro Jacobs, Rescue Manager in Overberg, John Davids, Rescue Technician, Rodriques Christoffels and Dane Lotter from Frontier Medix. Mark Smith from the Firefighters for Excellence Foundation virtually participated in the engagement.

𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥’𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

Previous category winners such as Emile Conrad, men’s overall category eight times and Aphiwe Ndukbini (defending champion from the Overberg) who won the competition last year, will be in action again to showcase the magnitude of their talent and overall fitness.

The Mini Toughest Firefighter Challenge will also be hosted to ensure that youngsters are able to also feel the rush and excitement of the TFA competition. Members of the public are encouraged to watch for announcements regarding registrations and spectator opportunities on the Toughest Firefighter Alive South Africa Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/104703576298608

Mayor Kruger encouraged the public and invited the nation to join firefighters across the country to gather in George this October to contribute to yet another remarkable experience for firefighters, stakeholders and the community at large.

ORIGINS OF THE TFA-SA

The event has been initially hosted in Cape Town, later in George in 2016, in Mossel Bay the competition was hosted from 2022 until 2024 and last year it has been hosted at the Garden Route Mall in George. This event attracts teams from across South Africa making the TFA-SA one of the biggest events of this nature across the globe.

According to Mark Smith, the Chairperson and founder of TFA-SA: “We are planning to make the event bigger and improve on the overall outcomes. Each year, we improve on the previous year’s event, as the competition has a massive and positive influence on Emergency Services across South Africa”. Smith further stated that the manner in which the event impacted the different areas is unbelievable – “more than what we could have imagined,” he said. Smith also highlighted how the event plays a pivotal role in ensuring improved service delivery to the communities, saying that “emergency responders must at all time be physically and mentally fit – testing their patience, resilience, camaraderie etc.”.

Aphiwe Ndukbini and Emile Conrad with loyal supporters showcasing what to expect at this year’s TFA-SA 2026.

The TFA-SA is linked to the World Firefighter Games, which was launched in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1990. It has since become the flagship competition for firefighters globally, with South Africa hosting its first TFA event in 2011 at the Good Hope Centre in Cape Town. The competition, nowadays, draws competitors from municipalities, private sector businesses, volunteer organisations, airport fire and rescue services and the military, as well as international firefighters.

To compete, information will be available on the official website at:
https://www.frimedia.org/tfa.html

Members of the public who are interested in volunteering at the event, are invited to send an e-mail to GRDM Fire Services to deon@gardenroute.gov.za.

Companies interested in sponsoring/exhibiting may contact the official media partner, Fire and Rescue International’s Lee Raath-Brownie at lee@fireandrescue.co or mobile 082 371 0190.

ENDS