MORE than 45 grass fires were reported in the outer west area last week after dry winds fanned the igniting of open fields.
According to Nelson Pillay, divisional commander of the eThekwini Fire Department, they attended to numerous calls in the Metro area, which included Tongaat and Umkomaas up to Cato Ridge. Due to their system being offline, he was unable to provide an exact figure of fires in the Highway area, but confirmed that most reports were grass fires.
eThekwini Municipality’s Emergency Control and Disaster Management Unit issued weather warnings, alerting residents that gale-force winds of up to 85km/h were expected, as well as wave heights predicted to rise between three and four metres that evening.
“The grass is so dry during the winter months that any hot wind could ignite grass fires. The fires spread across open fields containing discarded glass bottles, et cetera, which act as magnifying glasses and can cause fires. People who discard cigarettes and match sticks into open fields are ignorant that these can also ignite the dry grass,” said Pillay.
Steven King of the Waterfall Crime Watch posted alerts on social networks, informing residents of the weather warning. He also reported that no fire engines were available due to the many calls-outs they were attending to.
He urged residents to help out wherever they could on his social network page. “Our fire department is stretched thin and has asked patrollers to help while they are fighting numerous blazes. Residents are also urged to help by dousing fires before they become too dangerous,” wrote King.
Luckily, the fire department, with the assistance of the public, was able to control the fires and stop them from spreading.
Pillay advised residents to keep their properties clear from any fire hazards, keep their verges and boundaries clear from overgrown grass or create a fire break during the winter months.
One resident, Michael Holder of New Germany, said the Pinetown Fire Rescue team attended to a raging fire on Thole Street on Wednesday, 3 June.
“When I phoned the station, I was told they were aware of the problem and that they were already busy with a different fire, which means they must have had a busy night. A big thanks to you guys for keeping Pinetown safe, we appreciate your work,” said Holder.
