Among the ashes, Cape fire heroes stand tall

The terrifying fires that raged across the Cape peninsula this week fuelled debate about alien vegetation - and brought out the best in the courageous men and women who volunteered to fight the flames.

Marisa Galloway is arguably the quintessential Marvel comic-book hero. By day, the mother of two is a creative director at a Cape Town advertising agency; but when she leaves the office she slips into a yellow suit and puts her life on the line to fight fires.

Galloway, 34, is a firefighter with the Volunteer Wildfire Services. With fellow volunteers, she braved the towering flames that raged across the city's southern peninsula for days this week. The fires reduced several homes to ashes, but fortunately no lives were lost.

For more than a decade the wildfire volunteers, most of whom have permanent jobs, have gone about their firefighting task without fanfare and largely out of the public eye.

As a nonprofit organisation, the service is funded by individual donors, its own fundraising projects and small corporate sponsors.

It also benefits from partnerships with the likes of Table Mountain National Park.

But this week the courage of the volunteers was writ large in dramatic fashion.

"When we walk off a mountain after putting out a fire that nobody even knows about, there is such an overwhelming sense of fulfilment that no amount of tiredness can take away from us," said Galloway, who started as a volunteer firefighter last year after months of rigorous training.

"You are buggered, but you feel good about yourself, you are proud of your crew."

She is part of a crew of 151 volunteers: 132 active firefighters and 19 logistical support staff who operate control rooms, planning offices and other behind-the-scenes functions. The organisation has three bases and works closely with other emergency services.

</p><p =""><a href="https://vimeo.com/121386816">Jessica - Fire In The Cape</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/neopixelmedia">Calvin Munhuweyi</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><p ="">Galloway's tumultuous week started last Saturday when she was sent to fight two blazes - one on the upper slopes of Table Mountain and the other in the Hout Bay area.</p><p ="">She got home at 1am on Sunday and had barely closed her eyes when she was told that another fire had flared up. It was to be the worst Cape Town had seen in many years.</p><p ="">Galloway could not respond immediately because she wanted to spend the day with her son and daughter, who live with their father.</p><p ="">But after taking the children home, she reported for duty that evening and battled the flames until 3am on Monday.</p><p ="">"We went to the fire station, had something to eat, went home," she said. "Got to bed about 4.15am. I had two hours sleep, had a shower, got to work - and the call-outs carried on.</p><p ="">"I put my name down again for that evening ... I have found a passion for something that is so strong."</p><p ="">She followed the same pattern most of the week: almost no sleep and many hours behind her desk at her day job.</p><p ="">She said her boss was very supportive, gave her time off to rest and encouraged her to return to the front line to save homes.</p><p ="">Peter Wynne, operations manager for the wildfire service at its Newlands base, said the group's firefighters were going beyond the call of duty.</p><p ="">"On average, volunteers have been working 12- to 18-hour shifts, after which they are required to rest before returning for their next shift. Most volunteers have been doing this in addition to their day jobs," he said.</p><p ="">Galloway said that this week, when she was wearing her uniform, people would wave and smile. "I didn't become a saint overnight because Cape Town had a fire. I'm the same person, just incredibly humbled."</p>