Open field set alight next to Centurion school

Firefighters and emergency staff fought hard on Wednesday morning to put out a fire in an open field next to a Centurion school, reports Centurion Rekord.

The field is next to the Village Montessori School in Glover Avenue, Lyttelton.

A part of the field caught fire around 11.30am according to the school’s owner Daleen Koen.

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Koen said emergency services were immediately alerted and responded quickly.

“No one was injured and the school property was not damaged,” she said.

The concern, according to Koen, was that smoke from the fire could be hazardous to the 320 children at the school.

She said she suspected someone had set tyres alight and the fire spread to the field.

“My husband, Nico, and our four groundsmen worked together with emergency services to put out the fire,” Koen said.

She said the fire was still smouldering in the afternoon but had died out by Thursday morning.

“The field has been a concern for us for many years,” Koen said.

She said a fire in 2007 had damaged the school.

“As there was no one here to report the fire, it damaged a part of the school.”

Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Johan Pieterse urged members of the community to alert the authorities if they spotted people burning tyres.

“This is highly illegal and residents need to report such acts immediately,” said Pieterse.

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