See details on how to order your copy below. On 7 June 2017, the Knysna Fire erupted and caused devastation and destruction on a scale that had never been experienced within a local municipality in this country and sadly led to loss of life and the destruction of properties and bulk service infrastructure worth millions of Rands.

Following the initial deployment of the Working on Fire Riversdale Team, Working on Fire had, at the peak of the Knysna fire, dispatched 485 firefighters, 12 management, 12 Light Delivery Vehicles, 11 Fire Trucks, six Crew Busses, four Huey Helicopters, four Fixed Wing Spotter Planes and two 802 AT water bombers providing firefighting services to the Knysna and Plettenberg Bay fires.

This deployment of Working on Fire resources together with local, district and provincial firefighting resources and volunteers form the Volunteer Wildfire Service’s (VWS) became the largest deployment to a single fire incident in South African history.

The speed of deployment undoubtedly made a significant contribution to saving lives and property in this battle. Today, one year after the Knysna Fires of June 2017, we pay homage and respect to the hundreds of brave young men and women firefighters and volunteers who came to the assistance of the people of this beautiful Southern Cape Town.

In honor of these young men and women from the Department of Environmental Affairs’ Working on Fire, we have produced the publication, “The Knysna Fires -12 Days of Service”, telling the story of the valiant contributions of firefighters form one of the South African governments’ most successful Expanded Public Works Programmes (EPWP).

The ‘Knysna 12 –  Days of Service’ publication is an account of this largest-ever deployment of firefighting personnel in South Africa, as viewed through the eyes of the Working on Fire management and firefighters who participated in the battle. However, we salute all the men and women who came to the assistance of towns on the Garden Route, not least the valiant fire services personnel from not only Knysna and the Eden District Municipality but from various other towns throughout the Western Cape, as well as the volunteers and contractors from SANParks.

Please note:The Knysna Fires -12 Days of Service has been SOLD OUT