A vehicle-extrication team within the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Services, the Cape Town Destroyers, jetted off to Lanzarote in Spain, where they are competing with other international teams in the World Rescue Challenge, which takes place from Monday 16 to Saturday 21 October.
The Cape Town Destroyers are the only South African team invited to compete in the event and boast three firefighters from the Helderberg.
They have been training throughout the year, which includes simulating possible scenarios in three categories.
There are three scenarios of 25 minutes each, where there are multiple patients to extricate while also rendering patient care.
The team is using the World Rescue format for the scenarios and more complex training scenarios, with door and roof removals as well as patient care for multiple patients in conjunction with extricating other patients.
“The team consists of highly skilled extrication-specialist firefighters, who are trained at rescuing victims from trapped motor-vehicle accidents,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith. “Often during horrific motor-vehicle collisions, where victims are trapped and getting them to hospital becomes critical, it is a race against time and every second counts.”
Through exposure to new extrication techniques it is another investment in knowledge and skills, which allows quicker extrication of trapped victims in horrific motor vehicle accidents.
The team was first invited to compete in 2016 and returned in 2017. They participated again in 2018 when the World Rescue Challenge was held here in Cape Town. In the 2019 competition in France the team participated with new car technology where the vehicles were sponsored by Renault.
The international competition returned post-Covid in 2022, where the team again managed a top-10 position in Luxembourg.
“The challenge will be tough as this is the stage for the world’s best rescuers,” said Smith. “The team will be learning from the teams from the other countries and be exposed to new methods of working, new equipment on the market and using these tools in the pits when doing the scenarios.”
The nine-person team boasts a combined 176 years’ experience, and while stationed at different fire houses they trained together to ensure they can compete in the World Rescue Extrication Competition.
The team will return and take on the role of trainers and mentors to the rest of the firefighters in the latest techniques, which allows the service to upskill all its personnel to render a more clinical extrication rescue to trapped victims.
All firefighters are trained in motor-vehicle extrication skills, and it is through exposure to highly technical and specialised techniques that they gain a better understanding and skill set, which allows for a more effective extrication coupled with patient care.
“With more vehicles on our roads, motorists are exposed daily to the possibility of being involved in an accident. Should this happen, rest assured, there is a Fire and Rescue Service that can deal with such incidents. We wish the Cape Town Destroyers well and know they will make us proud.”
The team members are:
• Incident Commander – Station Commander Morne Haskell, stationed at Goodwood Fire Station• Technician – Station Commander Warren Sam, stationed at Goodwood Fire Station
• Technician – Station Commander Virgel Cloete, stationed at Strand Fire Station
• Reserve Technician – Senior Firefighter Alvin Kaliza, stationed at Goodwood Fire Station
• Technician – Senior Firefighter Michael Gardiner, stationed at Strand Fire Station
• Reserve Medic – Firefighter Robert Stamatiadis, stationed at Lakeside, resides in Diep River
• Main medic – Firefighter Gershwin Cloete, stationed at Sir Lowry’s Pass Fire Station
• Medic – Firefighter Keenan Walters, stationed at Milnerton Fire Station, resides in Belhar
• Team Manager – District Head Operations, Arlene WehrFollow the team and their progress on Facebook, “Cape Town Destroyers Team”, and Instagram (capetown_destroyersvehicleex).
