A popular firefighter who fought massive fires along the South Peninsula has died in a tragic car crash.
|||Cape Town - A popular firefighter has died in a tragic car crash on the M5 highway.
Deliah de Beer was on her way home after attending her grandmother’s birthday party when the car she was travelling in crashed near Lakeside on Sunday night.
Colleagues say the brave woman was known as a life-saver, and last year was part of the team of firefighters who fought massive fires along the South Peninsula, which destroyed 5 000 hectares of fynbos as well as 13 homes.
The 35-year old had been deployed at the Westridge fire station in Mitchells Plain and was fondly called “Beertjie” for her nurturing ways.
Deliah and her family were on their way home to Morgen’s Village, Mitchells Plain, after leaving her grandmother’s birthday party in Steenberg when they had the accident.
Deliah, who was in the passenger seat, died on impact and members from the Lakeside fire station, who knew her, had the tragic task of removing her body from the wreckage.
Several other family members were injured in the accident.
Janine Willemans, Media Liaison for the City of Cape Town, says the information about the accident is sketchy.
“We can confirm the incident but we are still waiting on information,” says Willemans.
Divisional Commander, Mervyn Carolissen, says Deliah’s death is a great loss to the station because she was passionate about saving lives.
“Her face was unrecognisable, our own guys from Lakeside had to take her out, it was so sad,” he says.
“She was very hardworking and worked overtime without claiming a cent.
“She was the giver at the station and loved working with children. We lost a great soul – she was robust and strong.”
He added that Deliah was among the group of brave firefighters honoured by Premier Helen Zille last year for dousing the destructive mountain fires along the South Peninsula.
Her colleagues, Darryl Cloete and Ronald Prins, says they will miss her on their shifts.
“We called her ‘Beertjie’, she was always so happy to help,” says Darryl.
“This morning we sadly had to empty her locker and room.”
Daily Voice