GALLERY and VIDEO: House burns in Malanshof

A fire consumed the top story of a house on Silver Pine Avenue, Malanshof, on 4 April. No one was hurt, and the cause of the fire is still unknown. The owner, who wishes to remain anonymous for his privacy, said that he was not home when the fire occurred at around 5pm. “When we came back, there were people coming and going,” he recalled. “All of upstairs was burned down… Six or seven people live here. They are staying somewhere else [now].”

According to nearby residents, the fire consumed the top story in about 20 minutes. “I was lying watching TV when I heard screaming,” said a resident, who did not wish to be named for fear of being targeted by dangerous members of the community. The resident went outside and saw smoke rising from the house. A passerby had already called the fire brigade, but police and various security companies responded first.

These groups, and residents, used garden hoses on the fire. But this proved ineffective. When firefighters arrived, they first had to connect their hosepipe to a fire hydrant a few hundred metres away in a neighbouring street. By the time the fire was put out, it had already caused much devastation. Ward 104 councillor Mike Wood said that it was a “major issue” that so much time was lost connecting the hosepipe to the fire hydrant.

City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi responded, “At any given time when the fire engine responds to an emergency it will have between 1 500 to 3 000 litres of water in its tank. As soon as it starts pumping water at an emergency there is a need for a hydrant to supplement water in the fire engine tank so that there is always water flowing at any given time.” The closest hydrant was not working, which was why firefighters had to use a hydrant in a neighbouring street.

Details: Ward 104 councillor Mike Wood 082 853 2174;

City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) 10177 or 112.