Know the Number, Save a Life: Emfuleni Fire & Rescue's Lisbet Mateki on What Every Household Must Know

There are conversations that inform. And then there are conversations that could save your life. The exchange between JustGospel Radio's Carlett Badenhorst and Lisbet Mateki — firefighter, educator, and community champion with Emfuleni Fire and Rescue Services — firmly belongs to the second category. It took place at the Sharpeville Exhibition Centre during JustGospel Radio's Healing Begins Here outside broadcast, and what unfolded over the course of a few extraordinary minutes was a masterclass in community safety, a revelation about the correct emergency number, and a deeply moving conversation about purpose, calling, and the God who places us exactly where He needs us.

Lisbet, based at Sebokeng's Nkotokop station, operates within Emfuleni Fire and Rescue's PIER division — Public Information, Education and Relations. Monday to Friday, she takes the classroom to the community. And the best part? It costs nothing.

Free Training — Right in Your Community

"The training is for only one day to the community and it is free — mahala, mahala," Lisbet said with a smile that made the room laugh. Her unit offers free, one-day certification training in fire basics and first aid to any community member who comes forward. Participants walk away with a certificate — at no cost whatsoever. "We cannot just fold our hands and say we are struggling," she explained. "We give that education to the community so that we can see how best we can assist each other in case of emergencies."

The training is not theoretical window-dressing. It is designed to bridge the gap between a fire starting and a fire engine arriving — teaching residents exactly what to do, and crucially what not to do, in those critical first minutes when every second counts.

Understanding Fire: The Triangle That Changes Everything

Lisbet opened with fundamentals that every South African household should know — the fire triangle. Fire, she explained, is not a mystery. It is a science, and like all sciences, once you understand its rules, you can beat it.

"If we are saying we are extinguishing the fire, we are actually eliminating one of the elements," Lisbet explained. "It's either you remove the oxygen, or you remove the fuel — whatever is burning — or you remove the heat." She then walked Carlett through the classes of fire — a detail that stops many people from accidentally making a fire worse.

Water Is NOT Always the Answer

One of the most dangerous assumptions in a fire emergency is reaching for water. Lisbet was emphatic: not all fires should be attacked with water. Class A fires — combustible materials like wood, paper and fabric — can be cooled with water. But Class C electrical fires? Absolutely not. "You can't use water on electricity," she said flatly. "That's where the fire extinguisher comes in."

She also shared a practical tip that most homeowners never consider — the placement of furniture. Fire spreads through radiation: the movement of heat in waves. By ensuring there is physical space between couches, curtains and other combustibles, you slow the rate at which fire jumps from one item to the next — buying precious time to escape or extinguish.

The Number That Every South African Must Know

Then came the moment that made the entire JustGospel Radio team stop and reconsider everything they thought they knew. When asked what number to call in a fire emergency, Lisbet did not say 10177. She said 112.

"One-one-two," Lisbet said clearly. "You will never go wrong. It's national. When you call 112, you will be responded to by the call centre for your province." In Gauteng, that means Midrand. The dispatcher will ask for your location — and here Lisbet gave another invaluable piece of advice: use a landmark. "Say at the corner of Seiso Street, next to the Global Garage. Give them something visible. A tavern, a garage, a school — anything the community knows. That is how they dispatch the right service to the right place quickly."

Carlett's confession that she had always believed 10111 was the number to call was met with good humour — and the important clarification that 10111 is exclusively for the South African Police Service, while 112 covers every emergency service across the board. "Even if your phone has no SIM card," Lisbet added, "112 will still go through." That single sentence may be the most important thing anyone reads today.

A Calling She Never Planned — But God Did

The conversation then took a turn that neither Lisbet nor the JustGospel Radio team seemed to expect. When asked about her journey into firefighting, Lisbet admitted with quiet honesty that this was never her plan. She had seen herself in a laboratory. Perhaps in nursing. Certainly not standing in front of community groups, teaching fire safety and first aid.

Carlett, drawing from the well of faith that runs through everything JustGospel Radio does, gently reframed what Lisbet was describing. "Your calling is teaching," she said. "But you are teaching what you love. God took your interests — the medical field — and He said: my child, I want you to teach. It's just not direct." And Lisbet, after a pause, agreed. "I had no option. When I was faced with teaching, I learned to love it. And putting God in the picture — I wanted what I wanted. But I didn't know what God had assigned in life for me."

What followed was one of those rare moments of live radio where theology and testimony meet in real time. Lisbet observed that she often ends up having what feels like a church service in the middle of a first aid class — not because she planned it, but because the message she carries naturally draws people toward something deeper. "Sometimes I say something that God wants you to hear," she said, "and it comes as just a normal person speaking — and you're like, how did you know about my life? But just because I didn't use the word God does not mean the message was not for you."

A Plea for Resources — and a Prayer for Emfuleni

Lisbet closed the interview with a parting word that carried the weight of someone who loves their community and aches for it at the same time. Emfuleni Fire and Rescue Services, like so much of the municipality it serves, is fighting to do more with less. "Our aim and purpose is to save the community," she said. "The goal is to save life and property. But we hope one day we will have the resources that will be appropriate for whatever we are doing as firefighters of Emfuleni."

Carlett, Tandi and the JustGospel Radio team echoed that prayer with the sincerity of neighbours who feel the same weight. "Our prayer is really that the Lord intervenes," Carlett said. "Let Emfuleni arise again — in new strength. May the Lord give wisdom and resources." It was a fitting close to a conversation that had moved seamlessly between the practical and the profound — from fire triangles to God's faithfulness, from emergency numbers to eternal purpose.

The broadcast ended, as all good JustGospel outside broadcasts do, with music. The War Within's Lord I Need You went out over the airwaves — a song that felt, in that moment, like the most honest prayer the Vaal Triangle could offer.