‘We try our best to save lives’: Soweto firefighter who works during busy festive seasons

Early in his career, Johannesburg firefighter, Kagiso Phasha, 34, had to attend to a vehicle accident on the N12 during the festive season in which an entire family travelling in a sedan perished.

“They were all dead. It was emotional; the whole family, unfortunately, lost their lives in that vehicle accident,” he said.

Phasha, a firefighter since 2013, stationed at the Eldorado Park fire station, continues to work during the festive season in an endeavour to save people’s lives, a job he regards as a calling.

“We will never forget. Death is not something that you forget, but it is something you should learn to live with.

“You live with it to take another call. I will try to make sure that we rescue people in an emergency. If we fail, that should be the last resort. It makes us feel better if we know that we tried our best.”

Having to deal with devastating motor vehicle accidents and fire calls, he takes succour from employee wellness services offered by the city’s emergency management services (EMS) and from his colleagues.

As colleagues, we have that time when we debrief and sit down to talk about such calls. In the beginning, when I started, it was emotional, but as time went on, I got to adjust and sit down and debrief with my colleagues.

“As colleagues, we have that time when we debrief and sit down to talk about such calls. In the beginning, when I started, it was emotional, but as time went on, I got to adjust and sit down and debrief with my colleagues.” The team also plays board games at the station and enjoys swimming.

“As a shift, we are one and we know how to cheer each other up,” he said.

Each day when he leaves his home in Soweto, where he stays with his partner, his daughter and his younger brother, he prays.

He said he prays for his colleagues to ensure that if he is not alert during any incident they have to deal with, his colleagues will be.

“If they are alert, they can also help me out. If he/she can be alert, we know we are in good hands. So you must pray for your colleagues and make sure that you do it as a shift when you get to work.

“When you are at work during a parade, before going to check your vehicles, make sure that you pray as the shift to say ‘God be with us’,” he said.

Though he enjoys working over the festive season, he said this is the busiest time of the year, and often stressful.

When he is off-duty, he tries to spend time with his family.

“As a firefighter, it is important for us to go out, leave work for a while and spend time with our families,” he said.

Every year, Phasha takes leave for the whole month of February, sometimes holidaying in Durban, to make up for any time he may have missed spending with his family during the festive season.

They also use this time to visit his grandmother in Limpopo.

He said he had learnt his job is a calling — it lives within him and is “something” he was born with and has grown to love. It has also helped him to form relationships with communities where he works and to deal with what are sometimes tense situations.

“I have learnt how to serve different types of people. I have also learnt to serve everyone, whether you are black, white or any other race. I have learnt to serve everyone, and it feels good.”

Witnessing death was common in their line of work and it was devastating to see young people dying on the roads or involved in fireworks accidents during the festive period, Phasha said.

“It is challenging, as a person, there is something that touches your heart.”

He is involved in awareness campaigns, helping communities understand how firefighters work and educating parents to ensure that they take care of their children.

“It is my passion for helping people. I think I was born to help people. Fortunately, being in this career, I found a home where I help people when it comes to emergencies.

“Residents should also be part of us when it comes to emergency preparedness. They must visit our Be Safe centres where we educate the public about first aid and fire awareness. They should also bring the young ones to the fire stations, and also come and learn and see what we do on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

TimesLIVE