By Melisa Munzvandi
BEITBRIDGE is scheduled to host a three-day major national fire-fighting competition and community safety expo to run from September 23 to 25.
The event organised by the National Industrial Fire Control Association (NIFCA) is expected to create a hive of activity in the border town.
Town clerk Loud Ramakgapola said apart from its core business the event is going to smile on the business activity.
“I am informed we will be having more than 1 000 firefighters and that creates a lot of movement in the town. It will create business and we are happy about that,” he said.
“As regards its main business we hope our fire-fighters from both the Rural District Council and the Municipality of Beitbridge will take serious lessons to improve their service. We are a border town and we have had several incidences calling for the attention of fire brigades. Every lesson must be learnt for both our growth and service. This is a welcome development,” said Ramakgapola whose town has an estimated 60 000 people.
The three day event brings together emergency responders, industry professionals, and local residents for high octane tactical challenges paired with interactive public safety outreach.
Municipal fire teams from different local authorities, government departments, and private industries will face off in mock firefighting scenarios, technical search and rescue challenges, and precision drills testing speed and pump operations.
For the local community, the gathering offers significant benefits beyond high energy entertainment.
Staging the event at Dulibadzimu Stadium boosts community engagement by giving residents, school pupils, and business owners direct access to practical fire safety awareness, emergency prevention tips, and basic safety education.
Local families will get a front row seat to impressive skills displays by top first responders from across the country, showcasing the tactical discipline required in real world crisis response.
“Hosting an event of this scale provides a strong economic and social boost to Beitbridge, lifting local business activity for hospitality and retail providers while fostering civic pride in the municipality’s growing public safety infrastructure,” said Ramakgapola.
NIFCA said highly competitive drills are expected at the expo which will showcase different machinery.
“To ensure impartial and rigorous competition standards, the challenges will be adjudicated by an in house adjudication panel from the association. The judges will oversee , 23 teams of 20 firefighters participating across various squad categories. Teams will be evaluated based on set standard examinations where the key criteria, record time tactical execution speed, strict safety protocol adherence, precision pump operation, and team coordination. The panel will score participants on both technical competence and real time decision making under high pressure simulated emergency conditions”, said NIFCA communication and Public relations and business strategist Rose Masayile.
Organized by NIFCA as both a competitive tournament and an educational community programme, the event offers local residents and leaders a dedicated platform for networking, reviewing disaster management strategies, and exploring modern safety technologies.It also offers the local hospitality industry to make an earning as they will be hosting over 500 fire fighters from the Zimbabwe Living industry.
Hosting the tournament marks another major step in strengthening regional emergency response capabilities, following the recent graduation of 21 local firefighters trained in partnership with the Air Force of Zimbabwe. Organizers emphasize that bringing NIFCA’s event to Dulivhadzimu Stadium underscores Beitbridge’s commitment to advancing community safety and cross-border emergency readiness.
This is shown by the fact that on the 22 there will be boader tour so that they see how hydrants are properly set and educate the stakeholders on what they to do and what not to do during a fire.
The race against time is on for fire fighters.
Some Beitbridge residents are already preparing for the event likely to involve a lot of work during day and a lot of fun during the evenings.
Beitbridge apart from its fame as an active and busy border in the region boasts of a sound night life for those who love clubbing.
It also boasts of sone of the best beef in the country and braai masters are already making their fires.
It is not clear if Musina, a twin of Beitbridge has been invited to attend considering its participation in several fire incidences including at least three fores that occured in the Beitbridge border post.
To date nothing has been said publicly about the three fires inside the border where millions of dollars of goods went up in an inferno generally believed was started by staff after thefts.