GALLERY: Millions in damage after pack house caught fire
"We are very thankful to everyone who went out of their way to come and help us," concluded Vorster.
The fire damage at Laeveld Sitrus Packhouse is believed to be in the millions. At around 08:30 on Saturday morning the pack house caught fire and the community reacted swiftly to assist in extinguishing the blaze. An eyewitness told the LETABA HERALD, that fortunately there were no casualties. They had to break down the walls of the pack house to extinguish the fire inside. According to Piet Vorster, owner of Laeveld Sitrus, the damage might total up to millions. At the time of going to press the damage to the pack house had not been evaluated. “We are still not sure what caused the fire, but once the assessors finish their investigation we’ll have answers,” Vorster explained to the HERALD. The pack house was filled with packaging material and machinery, and they were trying to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjoining pack house. “With the packing season approaching quickly we need to restore the pack house to its former working condition in less than six weeks,” said Vorster, “The pack house received a lot of damage during the fire, but we are hopeful that we can fix it in time for the big packing season. Luckily, we still have the other pack house to start packing.” Vorster went on to say that without the help and support of the community on Saturday, the damage would have been a lot worse. “We are very thankful to everyone who went out of their way to come and help us,” concluded Vorster. Look through the gallery below for more pictures:
