A tarpaulin crawl, PVC pipe, a rubber ball and some rope, an ominously named devil’s fork filled with blazing fuel and dealing with two scorching fires in quick succession it turns out were no match for Amawandle Heat.
The firefighting team from the Oceana Group’s Amawandle Pelagic, based at Laaiplek on the West Coast, triumphed at the 2024 Marsh Risk Group firefighting competition. The annual event sees teams from around the country battle it out for the prestige of being named the best in the country.
And you don’t just pitch up. Getting to the finals involves winning a top-five spot in a regional event and the competition is fierce. Oceana alone, entered five teams, two from Amawandle Pelagic, two from Lucky Star, St Helena Bay and one from Amawandle Hake.
Of the Amawandle Pelagic teams, Amawandle Heat took a top five regional spot, while its counterpart Amawandle Fire, just missed out on a trip to the final.
The MRG competition is designed to be a rigorous test of firefighter’s skill, teamwork and determination. The event challenges the team to work cohesively in high-pressure situations, demonstrating their technique and expertise.
There are three events: teamwork exercises, a fire-extinguisher drill and a hose drill.
Amawandle Heat made quick work of the teamwork exercises, which consisted of crawling under a tarpaulin in full firefighting kit and then balancing a ball on top of a pipe, using four ropes.
“While these exercises sound rudimentary, they’re a real test of the team’s ability to work together – something that’s essential when fighting fires. You must be certain your teammates are fulfilling their roles exactly as they’ve been trained to do, because in the real world there are no do-overs.
The second event brings the notorious ‘devil’s fork into play. Highly flammable liquid is poured into three interconnected horizontal troughs. The objective is to douse the fire as quickly as possible with a fire extinguisher. Two extinguishers are permitted, but if the team is able to put the fire out using only one, it is awarded 10 bonus points.
The captain leads the team, but the judges randomly select a team member to support him. Xolile (Whitey) Ndamase, stepped up and impressed with his expertise extinguishing the fire in 30 seconds, using just one extinguisher. His performance and the bonus points put the team into the lead.
The final event involved a hose drill where the team had to put out two fires. The catch is the second fire is started while the firefighters are battling the first. Amawandle Heat’s performance in this event wasn’t perfect, but was enough to get them over the line.
“Whether on our vessels at sea or our land-based factories, safety is a priority for Oceana and something that we never compromise,” says Lucky Star Operations Managing Director, Suleiman Salie.
“It’s why firefighting is a critical skill. While this competition was fun and enjoyable for all the teams that took part, testing their skills is deadly serious business. It’s why we’re grateful to our insurers MSG and incredibly proud of Amawandle Heat’s achievement.”
