About WFFA

It is interesting to note the diverse calibre of the individuals who served WFFA (Westville Fire Fighters Association) over the years. There are two fire fighters who have gone on to become medical practitioners, one a Professor of Quantum Physics, one a Professor of Biology at Wits, a dozen or so have become CA's, Civil Engineers and a large number of fire fighters have gone on to become business entrepreneurs and Captains of industry. We were also fortunate to have a number of people who remained in the business of fire fighting and have become senior Fire and Rescue personnel both here and overseas.

The WFFA service operated for just over twenty years with Volunteers, receiving few complaints from the public about our service delivery. There are countless numbers of residents who owe the fact that they still have dwellings, animals, possessions and even their lives to the service. There are even more people who literally owe their lives to the fact that volunteers gave up their time and risked their lives to rescue them from motor vehicle accidents.

Sadly, with change came the inevitable closure of the volunteer service based on a, in my opinion, misconception that the Trade Unions would not allow a volunteer service to continue where full-time fire fighters could be employed. An interesting concept when we read about how short-staffed they are today. When one considers that all First World, and now most developing countries have a very workable blend of full-time and volunteer services, we decide to re-invent the wheel and go backwards.

What is important however, and sometimes difficult for non fire fighters to comprehend, is the camaraderie of the fire fighters. It has an enormous amount to do with the strict discipline of working together and relying on one another in dangerous situations. The relationship of trust needed is one that crosses all barriers to the point where a fire fighter must trust another fire fighter from anywhere else in the world to, at an instant, be able to work together in order to save property and human lives.