Firefighters had their hands full over the first weekend of 2021 as raging fires kept them busy, fanned along by strong winds.
There were two fires on New Year’s Day on Friday night, when a blaze ripped through stalls in Town Centre, Mitchells Plain, and the Taiwan informal settlement, where 300 people were left homeless.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson Jermain Carelse says they responded to the Town Centre fire at 10.13pm.
“It was, in fact, stalltjies in front of Clicks that were burning. However, the strong winds blew the flames onto the roof of Clicks.
“Firefighters used a carborundum cutter to gain access to the shop – they cut the moon locks of the shutter doors. The fire was isolated quickly and damages included the façade of the shop, false ceiling and electrical wiring.”
About an hour earlier, a fire ripped through the Taiwan informal settlement behind the Lansdowne Road fire station.
“On scene we had 13 firefighting appliances and a total of 56 staff members.”
Although the strong winds posed a challenge to the firefighters, they managed to contain and extinguish the blaze at 5.25am.
“A firefighter was taken to hospital just after 1am as he was suffering from muscle spasms,” Carelse said.
“The blaze destroyed 141 structures and 11 formal houses, leaving 400 people affected.”
On Saturday at 5pm, a cleaning materials factory, Kleen Eezy & Fix n Smash, was destroyed in a fire in Connaught Road, Cravenby.
“A total of six fire engines and an aerial appliance was on scene with a total of 32 staff members,’ Carelse said.
“The strong winds caused the fire to spread to two adjacent factories, Turbo Exchange and HWT Tyre Fitment Centre, that were slightly damaged.
“A building inspector was requested as a wall had collapsed and injured a firefighter who had to be hospitalised.”