In October 2012, Ms Zanele Sibisi, a fire fighter for the Newcastle Fire Station was selected as one of the eight finalists in the 2013 Centrum Guardian Project after displaying extreme bravery and dedication when rescuing a man from a bulk water pipe on the 4th of October after he was trapped inside while repairing a leak.

Zanele was awarded training worth an estimated valued of R20 000 for herself and her 42 colleagues in which the prizes included a Pump Operators Course with motor rescue. The Pump Operators Course was sponsored by GODIVA and the Vehicle Extrication Course was sponsored by Hamilton Hydraulics. These two courses took place on Thursday, 27 March 2014.

“Fire brigades have specific skills that need to be learnt and part of these skills requires a lot of critical thinking, thus there is a need to revisit the classrooms from time to time in order to keep up with the advancement of technology and once again we thank Miss Zanele Sibisi for her bravery and dedication”, concluded Protection Services Communication