Volunteers from across the city were commended for their service with the City of Cape Town's Disaster Risk Management Centre this weekend.

The 44 volunteers have a combined 450 years of dedicated service, and logged 12 836 hours of service during the last quarter.

The Safety and Security Directorate's Disaster Risk Management Centre and Law Enforcement Department have about a thousand volunteers who assist in building a safer city.

'We recognise the many hours and years our volunteers put in to help fellow residents and the impact they make on communities. They are not often seen and make a difference without financial compensation.

'Being a volunteer is hard work as they do it in addition to their day-to-day work responsibilities, juggling expectations from family and friends and often sacrifice social time. It asks a lot of the individual, so it takes a special and committed person to become a volunteer,' said the City of Cape Town's Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

The City’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato, joined the celebrations and handed over some of the commendations and certificates.

Two special commendations were made:

• The Macassar Unit received an outstanding service and dedication award for the successful resuscitation of an adult male after a near drowning incident on 1 January 2019
• Davewia Mbasa from the Strand Unit, a volunteer since 2011, successfully resuscitated a six-year-old during a near drowning at Harmony Park on 26 December 2018

'All our volunteers are to be commended for their service, no matter how long ago they joined and each one is a hero for giving selflessly. A special mention goes to Donal Rother of Fish Hoek who has 35 years’ service, Pyron Isaacs who has 30 years of service and Franklin Tiemie who has 25 years’ service. The latter are both from Melton Rose. We are grateful for every hour spent on the job. Without them, our resources would be stretched even further,' said Alderman Smith.