Firewise Basic Training Offer
Date posted: November 19, 2015
NOTICE OF FIREWISE BASIC TRAINING
With the ongoing threat of veldfires in our neighbourhoods, the importance of community members having an understanding of the dangers and steps to be taken to assist in protecting lives and property becomes ever more important.
Enviro Wildfire Services is offering to provide Basic Veldfire training through the Chapman’s Peak Neighbourhood Watch to residents of the Noordhoek area at no charge.
DATE: Wednesday, 2 December
TIME: 8:30 – 12:30
The morning session will consist of about an hour of theory:
- Introduction to wildfire fire-fighting
- Terminology
- Fire behaviour
- Protective clothing and equipment
- Communications (Hand signals and radio communications)
- Dangers associated with helicopters
This is followed with about 2 hours of practical in the use of hoses, pumps, hydrants, and hand tools
Anyone interested in attending or have any question should please send a mail to firewise@cpnw.org.za . Space is limited to 20 people – sign up soon. Further dates – potentially on a weekend – will be arranged if there is sufficient interest.
Message from CPNW Firewise Committee
The March fires and evacuations pointed to the need for various functions of the CPNW to become formalised, one of which is fire response. We’re pleased to say that the Firewise subcommittee is now up and running. Its function is to assess fire risk and resources available to fight both veld and property fires, and it is currently assessing the fire fuel loads in the area, inspecting fire hydrants and the accessibility of various roads for firefighting vehicles, and looking in to and cataloguing what firefighting resources are available in the area.
We intend to give regular feedback, but are also inviting residents to get involved.
For the moment, there are three areas in which your help would be appreciated.
- A volunteer firefighting team is being established, and so anyone interested in undergoing training is invited to our first training event (details above).
- Do you have a portable water pump, a fire extinguisher or any other asset that could be a resource for fighting either veld or property fires? If so, please email firewise@cpnw.org.za .
- If you are concerned about the Fire Risk of your Property – please let us know. If there is any Fire Risk in your immediate area you would like to bring to our attention – please let us know. firewise@cpnw.org.za
- Our investigations have shown that many fire hydrants are obscured, with some being paved or planted over. While the City of Cape Town has been called out to test our fire hydrants, fix leaks and re-paint the road markings, it’s clear that as a community we need to be more aware of looking after our hydrants. Incidentally, there is a R1000 fine for obscuring a fire hydrant! In light of recent events, its well worth your time to take note of your closest fire hydrant and ensure that it is kept in good working order.
The CPNW Firewise Committee:
James Eckley, Bridget Farnham, Gavin Goldblatt, Tristan Holme, Tessa Oliver
Reminder: CPNW AGM – TOMORROW! Monday, 9 Nov
Date posted: November 8, 2015
Dear Member,
Please make time tomorrow to attend the AGM at Monkey Valley, 6:30 for 7pm, where in addition to normal business, you’ll also learn the latest from the Firewise committee with Rob Erasmus, and current situation management plans here in the South Peninsula from Marti Weddepohl, MercyNet.
We look forward to seeing you!
Further update, Monday morning
Date posted: November 2, 2015
A number of disruptions to the situation in Masiphumelele and surrounding areas have been reported this morning, including that residents have been unable to leave for work. This after there had been an earlier undertaking (at a community meeting held last night) that disruptions would be minimised as far as possible, that those with school and work commitments would be allowed to move unhindered, and that the road past Masiphumelele would remain open to traffic.
Many members of the Masiphumelele community are currently marching to the Simon’s Town court, in small groups, where the bail hearing of the community activist will continue (and likely conclude). It is advised to stay clear from Kommetjie road (4-way stop area) as well as the Black Hill expressway. Further disruptions can be expected later in the day.
Monday morning update
Date posted: November 2, 2015
The following from the JOC at Living Hope:
PUBLIC UPDATE
Following a public meeting in Masiphumelele the information is as follows –
The community is intent on marching to Simonstown to attend court proceedings.
They have agreed to allow kids to go to school and workers to their place of employ. Those not employed will be asked to join the march. It is intended to be a peaceful march. They will endeavor to have marshals, warning tape and walk in small groups etc. but please understand that they want to use the disruption process to help get their message against drugs and crime across. They request patience and restraint from SAPS/Public Order Policing and the public.
I advise residents to take steps to avoid what could be disruptions in normal traffic patterns if they have critical timelines. To exercise caution and patience.
SAPS Sector 2 Imbizo – Tonight, Thursday, 7pm
Date posted: October 29, 2015
** SAPS Sector 2 Imbizo – 29 October 2015 @ 7pm **
Greetings All,
SAPS is holding an Imbizo for Sector 2 residents on the 29th October 2015 at 7pm at King of Kings.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Fish Hoek SAPS does NOT cover Masiphumelele. Ocean View police will NOT be attending.
This is an opportunity for the Noordhoek community to hear the latest stats and participate in a question and answer session with SAPS of Fish Hoek station, who serve Noordhoek. Because this meeting has been planned to cover Sector 2 responsibilities only, there will not be personnel available to discuss the situation at Masi during this meeting.
Please do take time to come along to show our men and women of SAPS that we are engaged and support their work on our behalf.
Situation in Masiphumelele – brief update Thursday morning
Date posted: October 29, 2015
The situation in Masiphumelele has been reasonably quiet over the past 48 hours, despite some rumours and threats being circulated. Some meetings were held by the Masiphumelele community.
The community activist at the center of much of this upheaval has his next court appearance tomorrow (Friday) – we do not have a time yet. However, it is anticipated that the situation will once again become unsettled tomorrow (and possibly beyond that), and there is a good chance that people will again be hindered from going to work. At times such as these, it is important that we as a community show maximum understanding and compassion to people that may be employed by us here in Noordhoek, but who are unable to arrive for work. Understandably, even where Masiphumelele residents are not prevented from leaving, there will be a high degree of anxiety about their own family and belongings, in which case they may want to protect what they have. Residents of Masiphumelele may similarly be concerned about being able to return home later in the day.
Relevant response teams from formal services and authorities remain on standby and high alert.
The JOC is doing some planning work at present to see how NWs can further assist – including the usual ‘eyes and ears’, possibly traffic management support etc., and it is anticipated that there will be a further meeting between the JOC and various NWs later today.
– An article published yesterday on the situation in Masiphumelele may be of interest – it can be accessed here.
CPNW Newsletter, October 2015
Date posted: October 28, 2015
Dear Neighbours
The current situation in Masiphumelele is clearly a matter of great concern to everyone. As will be evident from our Communications, CPNW Committee Members have been attending briefings by Provincial and City authorities and we will continue to send out information as is appropriate. With the arrest of a key leader allegedly involved in some of the recent violence, who is reportedly facing some very serious charges and may not receive bail at his hearing on Friday, it is possible that there will be further outbreaks of unrest and it is evident that property is now being targeted. A Joint Operational Control centre has been set up at Living Hope and police from a number of units have been posted to the area with city authorities and local NW’s also involved.
As has been mentioned, everyone is asked to be on the lookout for unusual activity, especially:
- Piles of tyres
- Piles of rocks
- People gathered around in small groups, especially if they are young.
Please report any such activity to Patrick Wright (082 652 7474) or Craig Botha (083 2006482); they will then escalate it to the JOC who will then assimilate and assess the information. Please DO NOT POST this kind of info on any of our usual channels unless it is a clear emergency! Please continue to use our normal communications systems (radios, WhatsApp, website, Facebook) as we usually do for incidents of concern in our area. As a committee we will continue to keep a close eye on the situation and keep everyone informed.
We must stress to everyone that it has become clear that the violence is associated with some of the community members and that most people in Masi are opposed to it and as shocked and frightened by what has happened as the rest of us. It is critical that, as a community, we find as many ways as possible to show support for the people of Masi and to heal rifts between communities. We thus encourage members to be supportive of those struggling to get to work because of unrest, to consider accommodating children who are struggling to get to schools outside of Masi or who are just too afraid to be at home, to support matriculants who have been moved out of the area with food and other things to help them study, and in the longer term, to be supportive of initiatives to improve living conditions there. Our futures in this beautiful valley are tied to the wellbeing of everyone who lives here!
We must also ask all members to exercise great caution when using social media at a time such as this. Please note that communications sent via email, or posted on the CPNW website or even on closed Facebook groups have been posted for a select audience and these are not intended for wider dissemination for very specific reasons. We thus need to ask all members to act responsibly with information we have given you. Posting this on open sites can potentially compromise the security of CPNW members or even the ability of CPNW to function at all. Thoughtless posting of unnecessary comments and unverified information also only serves to inflame already heated emotions, so please think twice before you write anything that will suddenly become available, in a way you have no control over, to an extremely wide audience!
On that note we would also ask residents to raise any complaints they may have regarding ADT, with CPNW before posting these on Social Media. On more than one occasion of late, we discovered complaints via social media that had not been brought to the attention of CPNW. These were investigated with the full collaboration of ADT and found to be baseless, and although there have been apologies, the unnecessary reputational damage is hard to undo.
Crime-wise it has been another fairly quiet month in our area, with an opportunistic robbery, out of an open garage in Protea Street and vandalism and theft on Avondrust Farm resulting in the arrest of a well-known vagrant. We have been concerned about a range of suspicious activity in the Beach parking area so we have now installed an extensive camera system there. Many thanks to the Team House for accommodating this!
We would encourage everyone to keep their radios on and charged! Please listen out for radio checks!
We hope to see you all at our AGM on 9 November, 1830 for 1900, at Monkey Valley!
The situation in Masiphumelele – brief update Tuesday morning
Date posted: October 27, 2015
Protest action flared up again late last night and persisted through most of the night. Flare ups were quickly contained and fires causing road closures were put out promptly. The situation is still tense and on-going action is expected, per the JOC. In short:
Kommetjie Road, which was closed for a while, has just been re-opened for traffic (status: 8am)
People of Masiphumelele have been allowed to go to work today (only from around 7am)
Taxis are currently operating out of Masiphumelele
Masiphumelele – Update Monday, 26 October
Date posted: October 26, 2015
After a night of calm in Masi, workers were able to return to work this morning. The ‘community leader’s’ bail application has been postponed to Friday, and he remains in custody until then.
Today, the situation has shown signs of volatility and unrest, so we’re asking everyone to stay aware, and report any suspicious activity or ‘out of the ordinary’ developments. Report these to CPNW’s Patrick Wright (082 652 7474) or Craig Botha (083 2006482) who will escalate it to the JOC who will then assimilate and assess the information.
Law enforcement agencies are on duty, and are monitoring the situation closely.
Please note that mails sent out via this channel are NOT to be shared. Especially not to social media. Please do not forward onto non-members either as they might post it anywhere. There are good reasons for this, every member who receives an email from CPNW is a registered member and often sensitive details are sent out, which are “For your eyes only”.
Members who do share these communications will be removed from our mailing list. Thank you for your support!
CPNW emails and social media
Date posted: October 26, 2015
Please note that mails sent out via this channel are NOT to be shared. Especially not to social media. Please do not forward onto non-members either as they might post it anywhere. There are good reasons for this, every member who receives an email from CPNW is a registered member and often sensitive details are sent out, which are “For your eyes only”.
Unfortunately, my email from yesterday was shared on Facebook. The mail had cell phone numbers on it which were also shared. This could have – and may still – result in unfortunate phone calls.
Members who do share these communications will be removed from our mailing list.