On 6 October, Johannes Khumalo and two of his colleagues, Welcome Mtungwa and Madidimala Michael, were on duty at the Waterfall estate when they were called onto the scene.
Mandy Collins, a Kyalami resident, was the concerned citizen that alerted them of the fire in the area. “There were polo ponies grazing in the area and they could have been burnt to death had they not intervened,” said Collins.
Collins claims the company responsible for the fire did not want to take responsibility and left without leaving their details. “When I arrived there they only had a two litre bottle of water and they admitted that the fire was out of their control.”
Khumalo collaborated her story and said the company did not have a fire extinguisher as they were doing welding on the property’s gate. “They came with 20 litres of water after we arrived there and asked a few questions about the fire. As they went to fetch the water, they left the fire open and we ensured them that it did not spread,” said Khumalo, explaining his and his colleagues’ efforts.
Collins was grateful to the team who stopped a potential disaster and expressed disappointment at the welding company who left the scene without taking responsibility for their irresponsible behaviour.
