WATCH: Fire at water services depot blankets suburb in thick black smoke
Cloverdene and surrounding areas were subjected to hours of thick black smoke.
Plumes of pitch black smoke filled the sky over Cloverdene in the late afternoon of June 5 from a fire at the Ekurhuleni Water Services depot that, according to sources, was the result of a runaway veld fire.
The cause of the thick black smoke was PVC piping that caught fire. The smoke drifted over the suburb for kilometres and lay stagnant for hours afterwards. Explosion-like sounds could be heard from a good distance away as residents close to Ebotse kept an eye on the huge fire.
Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) responded to the incident at around 17:30, while the thick black smoke was evident for at least half an hour prior to this.
The Benoni City Times visited the site the next morning and was well received by staff and management, although they could not comment on record about the incident.
The City Times is awaiting official comment from the City of Ekurhuleni about the DEMS response to the fire and the materials that were burnt at the depot.
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