Fire and Rescue International Newsletter

Registration now open for Toughest Firefighter Alive 2026

The South Africa’s Toughest Firefighter Alive Competition 2026 is the 11th Edition of the event that will be held at the Garden Route Mall from 1 to 3 October 2026. World Event: “The purpose of the competition as per the World Firefighter Games, is to: “Promote the physical and mental overcoming ability of firefighters through demanding tests, reproducing operational tasks and reinforcing esprit de corps and physical training,” said TFA founder, Mark Smith.

Website: https://www.frimedia.org/tfa.html
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepiDjIh7STgAC7lZ7phoJGAWX_utwLtGZTA3Y7rXT87nAg6Q/viewform

Smith added, “The Toughest Firefighter (and Rescuer) Alive is beneficial for the following reasons:
Best type of functional training to condition staff
The TFA circuit is of the best type of functional training available because the circuit incorporates natural operational tasks and movements that is performed daily, therefore surpasses other functional fitness trends such as Hyrox, Crossfit, etc.

Develops mental resilience
The competition uniquely combines the element of physical fitness with mental resilience and fortitude as the firefighter has to display resilience to complete the tasks and has to regroup and prepare for the next task.

Fosters a spirit of excellence
The competition promotes the practice of refining techniques through a system of continuous improvement.”

CFO Deon Stoffels, Garden Route District Municipality
I would like to invite the country and neighbouring countries to this prestigious event once more for the 2026 edition also encourage you to enter. We promise to deliver an even better event, as continuous improvement is always desired to reach a World Standard level, for the benefit of yourselves as the main attraction and stars of the show.

Conditioning and Fitness remain the cornerstone of Firefighter and Emergency Service personnel’s longevity and delivering quality services to our communities. The event promotes much more than just a winner at the end but promotes skill, perseverance and resilience of everyone who partakes and competes, not just against your fellow firefighter but against yourselves as well, which is a driving factor for courage and bravery.

It is a Great Privilege for the Garden Route District Municipality to host this event in partnership with the host venue, the Garden Route Mall, which provides the ideal setting for not just competition but also unwinding and enjoying the local cuisine, the beaches close by and naturistic attractions. The event will once again end off with a Gala Evening, where we end up celebrating all and sending them off with gratitude.

Etienne du Toit, Fire and Rescue Services at the Western Cape Government
Etienne du Toit said of the 2025 TFA: “Grit is defined as the combination of perseverance and passion for achieving long-term goals, even in the face of challenges, setbacks or difficulties”. The TFA 2025 competition once again showcased the extraordinary strength, skill and resilience of South Africa’s emergency services community. The event brought together participants from across the country to compete in a series of gruelling physical and technical challenges that mirror the demands of real-life firefighting, testing endurance, agility and teamwork under pressure.

Beyond the competition, TFA served as an important platform for promoting firefighter health, fitness and safety awareness and highlights the critical need for physical and mental wellness in a profession where lives depend on peak performance and sound judgment. Through open discussions and engagement among participants, the event underscored the importance of regular fitness, stress management and proactive health practices in sustaining long, effective careers in the emergency service.

The winners will once again be taking part in the World Firefighter Games 2026 to be held in Alkhobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 5 to 13 November 2026.

As an NPO, the Toughest Firefighter Alive is reliant on industry support via sponsorships and exhibits. Please contact Lee Raath-Brownie for the special packages available on mobile: 082 371 0190 or email: lee@fireandrescue.co. Tax certificates can be issued for sponsorships as the TFA is a registered PBO.

Quote of the week
“Don’t just train your body. Train your mind not to quit.” ~ Author unknown

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Lee Raath-Brownie
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Twelve people, including children, were killed and 66 others injured when a bus travelling from Cape Town to Johannesburg overturned on the N1 near Trompsburg in the Free State on Thursday night. The passenger bus was transporting 78 occupants from Cape Town to Zimbabwe when the driver allegedly lost control, causing the vehicle to overturn and completely block the highway. The Free State Department of Health said that Free State Emergency Medical Services (EMS) confirmed that the bus overturned shortly after 9.30pm on the N1, about 24km north of Trompsburg in the direction of Edenburg.

Two crew members have been killed after two helicopters collided mid-air in Greece while battling wildfires. The fatalities were a Danish pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer. A British pilot and another Greek co-ordinator on the second helicopter survived. Video of the incident some 65km (42 miles) west of the capital Athens shows one of the two Bell helicopters hitting the rotors of the other, which bursts into flames and crashes in a ravine. The other aircraft made an emergency landing.

New emergency response equipment enhances firefighting capability in the West Coast District

Firefighters in the West Coast District are better equipped to respond to emergencies following the handover of new emergency response equipment by the Western Cape Government through the Provincial Disaster Management Centre. The handover was attended by the Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, who reaffirmed the provincial government’s commitment to strengthening municipal emergency services and supporting those who work to keep communities safe.

Four people have been taken to hospital and several homes damaged as fires tore through residential neighbourhoods in the West Midlands in the UK. A 16-hectare (40-acre) grassfire near a golf course in Stourbridge was one of several significant fires in the region on Thursday, 13 August 2026 – the UK’s hottest day of the year. Twelve fire engines carrying about 60 crew were sent to the scene after West Midlands fire service was alerted to the fast-moving blaze just before 13h30 on Thursday. Three firefighters and a child were taken to hospital for treatment, a fire service spokesperson said.

The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department continues to strengthen its Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability through specialised rope rescue training currently taking place in Boksburg, hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni. The training forms part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two metropolitan municipalities, which promotes collaboration in developing highly skilled Urban Search and Rescue technicians capable of responding to complex emergencies. The initiative enables Tshwane firefighters to complete specialist training modules required to qualify as fully accredited USAR technicians.

The wildland fire and aviation communities are mourning the devastating loss of Chris Andersen and Miles Elliott, who lost their lives while supporting the Widemouth 2 Fire in Utah. On Friday, 7 August 2026, Chris and Miles were aboard Sikorsky S-64 Sky Crane N793HT, working the Widemouth 2 Fire in Millard and Sevier counties, when their helicopter crashed in steep terrain near Three Creeks Reservoir, tragically taking both of their lives.

An adult male house occupant died and his charred body found under the burnt rubble in one of the seven rooms of a burnt house midday on Thursday, 30 July 2026, in Leondale, Germiston. City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) firefighters swiftly responded out to Antelope Avenue in Leondale after the reception of an alarm reporting that a seven roomed house in well alight. A crew made of ten firefighters responded out with two fire engines respectively to the address. On arrival, the entire roof section of the structure had already collapsed, all seven rooms well alight.

A major fire tore through the upper floors of Jakarta’s Abdul Muis Technical Service Building on Friday night, 7 August 2026, sending flames across six floors and triggering a large emergency response in the Indonesian capital. A renovation worker trapped on the 15th floor was rescued and taken to Tarakan Regional General Hospital for treatment. Authorities said no deaths had been reported. Jakarta’s fire and rescue service deployed 37 fire units and 185 personnel, supported by three Bronto Skylift aerial vehicles, to reach the upper floors. A later operational update put the deployment at 40 units and 200 personnel.

On 13 August 2026, he Gift of the Givers team met with Buffalo City Metropolitan Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Graeme Shakespeare to reaffirm a longstanding partnership focused on community safety and emergency response. Over the years, Gift of the Givers has worked closely with the Fire Department on community fire safety awareness programmes and emergency response interventions, helping strengthen support for communities across the Metro.

Hoverstar operates a specialised water and typhoon simulation training base in China that conducts high-risk tactical drills, including heavy-weather aircraft rescue and maritime search-and-rescue (SAR) operations. These institutional programmes focus on extreme environment responses, such as category-14 typhoon resistance, helocasting and night operations. Programmes blend air-to-water deployment, flood response and severe weather stabilisation.

The Faculty of Health Sciences is proud to have Connor Hartnady University of Johannesburg (UJ) Rescue Centre Manager selected to participate as a member and in his capacity as director of Rescue South Africa at the the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Cyclone and Flood Response Simulation Exercise (SIMEX), in Nacala, Mozambique from 27 to 31 July 2026. The exercise formed part of the SADC Disaster Risk Management Strengthening Project and brought together disaster management authorities, humanitarian organisations, emergency responders and technical specialists from across Southern Africa and the wider international community to strengthen regional preparedness for and response to, large-scale cyclone and flood disasters.

This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Fire station planning principles: Calculating optimal siting by the late Previn D Govender, divisional head: strategy and planning, City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services, at the time of writing the article (FRI Vol 4 no 1). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.

The Town of Caledon is excited to announce the opening of Fire Station 310, a modern and sustainable facility that will enhance emergency response in south Caledon and the growing Mayfield West area. Located at 12357 Chinguacousy Road, Station 310 was officially opened on Monday, 11 May 2026 and is strategically positioned to serve one of Caledon’s fastest-growing corridors, improving coverage for both existing neighbourhoods and future development. The new station reduces response times and supports the Town’s commitment to high standards of public safety as the community continues to grow.

In a milestone for European aerial firefighting and emergency response, PZL Mielec, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), has commenced production of Europe’s first Sikorsky S-70 FireHawk® helicopters. The aircraft are being manufactured for the Czech Republic Ministry of the Interior through a partnership with Česká letecká servisní (ČLS), a Helicopter Alliance (HA) company and United Rotorcraft. The FireHawk, a purpose built variant of the Black Hawk® helicopter, will enable the Czech Republic to launch rapid, all weather suppression missions from its home base and, through the European Commission’s RescEU programme, extend support to neighbouring nations confronting ever intensifying wildfire seasons.

Erase fat on shift as a firefighter.

Source: Reclaim Firefighter Fitness

The video showcases TIC operations during a search and rescue scenario, featuring a comprehensive three-level scan. The crew in the video demonstrates a TIC-directed search, which is the MDFR’s bread and butter, serving as its primary method. When equipped with a functional TIC, a well-trained crew can efficiently search and clear a structure with unmatched speed. The thermal imaging camera empowers the officer to survey larger areas without physically inspecting every square inch, unlike a traditional search.

Source: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Training Division

After the success of our Day in the Life of a Firefighter video featuring Siobhan at Lambeth, we’re taking you on a fascinating journey back in time — to 1983. In this retro archive footage, we step inside London Fire Brigade stations to follow firefighters through their daily routines. From morning checks and equipment maintenance to community engagement and responding to emergencies, it’s incredible to see how many of the core duties remain the same today. While the spirit of the job hasn’t changed, you’ll notice striking differences too — from the firefighting kit and appliances of the 1980s to the advances in equipment, technology, and personal protective equipment (PPE) we use today.