There's little more terrifying than a southeaster blowing a wildfire towards your home or farm. That's when you need the heroes from Vulcan, writes Matthew SterneVulcan Wildfire is South Africa's first elite squad of wildfire firefighters. Young and fit, they're the hardened athletes you would expect, but they're also thoughtful, sensitive and talk about their feelings. They base their operations on the US Interagency Hotshot Crews, but the majority of the team speak Xhosa, live in Khayeltisha and have never left the Western Cape, let alone South Africa.Their primary job is to tame veldfires, but they say their ultimate goal is to tackle inequality.story_article_left1Ryan Heydenrych and Patrick Ryan founded Vulcan six months ago. Heydenrych, a former volunteer firefighter at Newlands, walked away from a promising web business and sold his car to help get Vulcan off the ground.Ryan, also a former volunteer firefighter, turned his back on a successful photography career and poured much of his own money into Vulcan, which promises very little, if any, in return.Ryan says, "Ryan and I were sitting having a beer one evening and said, 'Look, if only we could do this as a profession.' There are professional wildfire firefighters overseas. In Australia, they're called Raft - Remote Area Firefighting Teams. In the States, you've got Hotshot Crews and Smokejumpers."We just thought, if only they had this out here, we'd go join them. By that point I was sick of photography and the photography world. I had found much fuller and more grounded people in firefighting."Then the conversation went from, 'If only we could join a crew,' to, 'Let's just form our own crew.' And that was the start of Vulcan."Heydenrych describes the decision as "completely out of character" for him."I am normally very sensible and conservative, especially with money and business decisions, but the more we talked about it the more we realised how passionate we were about the idea."And, more importantly, there is a massive need for it. Fires in the Western Cape are growing in size, frequency and intensity. Currently, a lot of fires are getting away from crews. They say I was born for this job. I don't want to start again. I want to go through the channels to senior firefighter "The guys are poorly paid, they're not motivated, they don't have the right skills and they're unequipped. We came in and said that there must be a better way to do this."We've got to make wildland firefighting a career for people - at the moment it's just an entry-level job. If they get the right training, gear and vehicles, we'll elevate people from a lower to a middle class. Because that's very important for the future of the country. And that's a massive drive to starting this company, to contribute to an industry and make a difference. We want to let them reach their maximum potential in life."The first member to join Vulcan was Luncedo "Culture" Rorwane. With five years' experience at Working on Fire, a job creation and stepping-stone government programme, Vulcan seemed like the perfect opportunity for Culture, 32, who had recently become a father.A key aspect of Vulcan is that it offers a viable career. Instead of a very basic salary, which is the norm in the industry, the Vulcan crew is paid a decent living wage.The other key difference is that every man has at least two years' experience.One of the first practices put in place at Vulcan was a daily "mojo update". Each morning, every member of the team rates their mojo out of 10 - how they are feeling physically and mentally."I like the mojo because it helps us," says Rorwane."Maybe Dumisani's mojo is low today so then we know and we can talk to him and find out what's wrong and then we can deal with it, especially if we are going to the fireline. The best thing to boost the mojo is to talk. Because we go to these dangerous areas we need to trust each other."Almost all of us here are parents, but most of us are unmarried. We try to help each other with our problems. Normally, it is with our personal relationships. That is most often the problem with this age group and a big factor with the crew's mojo."I cannot do this forever," says Rorwane. "After this, in 10 years, I'd like to open a small business in the location or maybe help the community. But for now, I'm focusing on my work."Sesethu "Sierah" Stuma, 25, grew up in a small town in the Transkei and has the sleek, taut muscles of a warrior. He had a difficult childhood."When I was nine months old, my parents died in a car crash. And so I did not grow up with much guidance," Stuma says."In 2008, my sister died. When she passed away, she was my last hope. For a long time, I didn't want to do anything. But I eventually decided to move to Cape Town and four years later I am now working at Vulcan. I'm proud of myself, to be honest. You see, many other guys end up drinking, smoking, getting into gangs and robbery, all of those things. But now I've got firefighting."Stuma is ambitious. "I wish to be a commander. They say I was born for this job. I don't want to start again. I want to go through the channels to senior firefighter, to crew boss, and my dream is to one day be a chief. That is why I work so hard. I want my bosses to see how dedicated I am."He praises Heydenrych and Ryan."When we go out they make sure we have everything we need. They're always positive. Positivity is the most important thing you need in life."..