Two Cape Town firefighters will be running the Two Oceans half-marathon in their full firefighting gear this Sunday to raise funds for the Volunteer Wildfire Services.

Ronaldo Duncan has been fighting fires for the City for 13 years, while Jermaine Carelse has been in the service for 22 years and have both seen their fair share of sweeping mountain fires.

When disaster strikes, it becomes a race against time to get up and onto the fire line. As was the case 2 years ago, when a fire broke out on the slopes of Table Mountain on 18th April.

The fire raged for nearly 4 days as crews struggled over rough terrain for a fire that ravaged 650 hectares of land, including the loss of the 200 year old Mostert’s Mill and the UCT library’s iconic Jager reading room which saw countless treasures ever.

As firefighting crews rallied together in support, it was the combined efforts of agencies like the Volunteer Wildfire Services who eventually helped tame the fiery beast.

Recognizing the vital role VWS plays in protecting our beautiful heritage and world renowned mountain landscape, the City of Cape Town Fire & Rescue has two of their firefighters who have picked up a challenge.

Both firefighters will be running the 21km half marathon, but in their full firefighting gear!

This exemplary feat of endurance draws attention to the severe conditions firefighters need to experience while out in the field but also highlighting the importance for getting resources to the fire line as quick as possible.

Volunteer Wildfire Services has been around for the past 20 years and is an organisation built upon the ethos of active citizenship. With around 320 volunteers who place themselves on standby across 4 of their bases in and around Cape Town, these volunteers stand ready to head up to the mountains when devastating disaster strikes.

While they have a limited fleet of vehicles used for fighting wildfire incidents, VWS has developed their primary skill of “beating out sweeping infernos” by using a combination of skill and muscle. Good old blood, sweat and tears.

“VWS is a registered NGO and has to cover its operating costs purely from public donations. Always extremely grateful for the assistance up until now that has kept us going, we are wanting to do more but are limited by the increasing cost of our operations,” says VWS CEO, Claire Lötter.

“It costs around R6000 to train each volunteer firefighter and equip with the basic PPE. Volunteers then still need to purchase their own backpack, fireboots, water and nutrition that is needed while fighting fires. Our biggest expense at the moment though is our vehicles, with our oldest being a 28 year old ‘people carrier.’ You’ll see our bright yellow vehicle running around the mountain during times of disaster, ferrying 8 volunteers at a time. The cost of maintaining our aging fleet is draining our resources and we are desperately trying to reduce this burden.”

Jermaine and Renaldo are asking residents to pledge an amount, any amount.

For every minute that passes before they both reach the “fire line,” they are asking that R1 be deducted from the final pledge amount that gets paid over to VWS.

With the added weight factor of their protective fire suit, helmets and gear, both firefighters are aiming to complete the gruelling race in 2 hours and 45 minutes. This will essentially see an amount of R165 being deducted by each donor of any amount pledged, a further reminder whole running the race, as in for both firefighters and times of disaster, every second counts.

Volunteer Wildfire Services have setup various options for receiving any donations and will detail this all on their social media pages.

“I am taken back by the courageous feat of endurance undertaken by both firefighters and all of us at the VWS are deeply appreciative for the sentiment shared by our colleagues in the City who will be running this marathon,” adds Claire.

“We will be there, both at the starting line and at the finish line to cheer them on.”

Those interested in pledging any amount for the race can head on over to VWS Facebook page.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Could you save a life?