A paraffin depot caught fire after one of its tanks reportedly exploded on Monday morning, PretoriaEast Rekord reports.
Tshwane emergency services personnel were called to the scene on the Old Bronkhorstspruit Road in Donkerhoek at 7am.
Upon arrival, firefighters found a paraffin tank of about 59,000 litres on fire, said emergency services spokesperson Charles Mabaso.
“According to the owner, the tank had only 7,000 litres of paraffin,” he said.
“Firefighters managed to save a 46,000-litre tank of paraffin, as well as a nearby structure.”
Mabaso said drums of paraffin with an estimated 1,000 litres also caught fire. An office block was completely destroyed by the fire.
“A 23,000-litre capacity tank, which was empty, was also damaged by the fire.”
The damage was estimated to be around R3 million.
He said the fire was contained and prevented from spreading to nearby piles of wood and neighbouring facilities.
Circumstances that led to the explosion and the fire are subject to investigation.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
