City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer Ian Schnetler retired on Wednesday after 43 years in the city’s fire department.
Schnetler retires from a journey that dates back to December in 1979 when he started as a rookie just a few days after writing his matric exams.
As a rookie firefighter back then, Schnetler was deployed to Roeland Street Fire Station and attended his first big fire on New Year’s Eve in 1979 – a double storey dwelling in Tamboerskloof.
Schnetler served at a number of fire stations, before being promoted to Fire Officer in January 1985 – at the time, the youngest ranked officer in the service.
Reflecting to his journey, Schnetler, said that firefighting is a calling and it was his motivation for remaining in the profession for more than four decades.
“The different emergencies and challenges inspired me to continue to develop ways of helping and enabling staff to overcome them.
“Firefighting is a calling and it was my motivation for remaining in the profession for more than four decades,” he said.
He hinted that even when his title changed in 1990 to that of Chief Fire Officer where he had to put out administrative fires, he missed being on the ground.
“With the training that you receive and the experience you build up over time, firefighting is much simpler, easier, more exciting and fun to do than sitting behind a desk.
“If and when an opportunity arises, I try and get involved with actual firefighting just to once again experience the feeling of being an operational firefighter,“ he said.
Schnetler also said that one of the highlights of his career was “the privilege of managing one of the proudest and best fire services in the country.
“This can only be credited to the diligent and hard work of the team of firefighters, administrative staff and senior management who make it possible. Without them, we may not have been in the same position we are now,“ Schnetler said.
Meanwhile, Mayco Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith, lauded Schnetler’s contribution to building Cape Town’s Fire Service.
“Firefighters run into danger and there is no doubt that it is a calling. CFO Schnetler comes from a family of uniformed personnel and he has continued the proud and noble tradition of serving the city.
“He has stayed true to his calling, has shown courage under literal fire and has done the hard yards. His time in bunker gear may be over, but his time in the service will always be remembered. We wish him well on this next part of his journey,” Smith said.
IOL