A popular paintball shooting range in Brackenfell was destroyed by a fire which ripped through the area on Monday.
Traffic near Bottelary Road came to a standstill as thick clouds of smoke hung over the area. The fire which started shortly after 1pm saw the destruction of Reapers paintball range, but luckily the Cafe Mambo restaurant was saved.
Peter Engelbrecht, who lives on the small holding which also consists of a farm, says wakker firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to his home.
Engelbrecht says: “We lost a lot, especially the water pipes used for irrigation.
“We have lost 10 years of hard work and will have to start over. The firefighters were able to stop the fire from reaching our home as the flames were just about five metres away. We thank God that nobody was hurt.
“Reapers was the best paintball range in Cape Town. We were very happy for the rain on Monday night because some of the tyres were still smouldering. The firefighters told us that maybe a piece of glass could have started the fire.”
City Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, says they received a call for help at 1.10pm of vegetation alight near Bottelary Road.
Carelse says: “A total of nine firefighting resources were dispatched to the scene – three fire engines, three water tankers and three skid units.
“The seasonal firefighters were also deployed to assist in containing this blaze. It was a large area of vegetation burning, with a property in danger.
“Trees, wooden pallets and the entire paintball obstacle course was destroyed. The crews managed to save the actual building on the property. No injuries were reported.”