Crime fighters in Grassy Park are kwaad after a police car went up in flames on Sunday.
According to Daily Voice sources, the vehicle parked outside of Grassy Park Police Station caught alight after a Mandrax pipe apparently set fire to a nearby tent inhabited by homeless people.
City Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, says they received the call for help at 10.48am.
“A fire engine from Wynberg was dispatched to the scene.
“A small quantity of rubbish was burning and this affected the two police vehicles parked on the side of the road.
“No injuries were reported. The rubbish fire caused the damage to the vehicles. The cause of the rubbish fire is unknown.”
Grassy Park station commander, Colonel Dawood Laing, says a marked police vehicle was destroyed while a detective vehicle was also damaged.
“It is suspected that a drug pipe was not put out and that caused the fire in the tent that spread but it cannot be confirmed,” he says.
“The vehicle is a complaints vehicle that will now not be available for the festive season.”
Community Police Forum (CPF) chairperson, Melvin Jonkers, says the tents have been creating a problem for some time now.
“We are very upset because these camps have been reported over and over.
“We heard that it was caused by a drug pipe but none of this was confirmed,” he says.
“The situation is getting out of hand and the library or the police station could have burnt down.”
monique.duval@inl.co.za