Homelake flats burned to the ground

Four flatlets were burned to the ground when a fire broke out this afternoon (27 May) at a property in Sabie Street, Homelake.

It remains unclear what caused the fire, but fortunately no-one sustained any injuries.

According to an eyewitness at the scene, the property belongs to a friend who is currently in Cape Twon.

“He called me and asked if I would check on the property as he had heard that there was a fire,” says the man who wishes not to be named.

“I drove from Krugersdorp and when I arrived, I found that one of the four flatlets on the property was burning.

“The fire department was already at the scene, but they did not have water and could not find a fire hydrant.”

The man says when he enquired from firemen at the scene why they did not have water, they became aggressive and threatened to have him arrested if he did not stop interfering.

“I could not believe my ears,” says the man.

“I was merely asking why they were not putting the fire out.

“They did not seem at all concerned that these flatlets were burning down.

“The went about their business as if they had the entire day in which to put out the fire.”

The man says by the time firefighters managed to locate a fire hydrant, it was too late.

“All four the flatlets had burned down by that time.”

According to Public Safety regional commander Benny Mohlabeng, the man’s claims are rubbish.

“Two trucks attended the incident,” says Mohlabeng.

“One truck had 6 000 litres of water while the other had 4 000 litres.

“It is law in our department that after usage, one fills up the fire trucks so it cannot be correct that we did not have enough water supply at the scene.

“We were also able to locate a fire hydrant a few houses from the scene which supplied us with more than enough water to put out the fire.”

According to the witness, he showed up at the scene at approximately 12.40pm.

The fire was eventually extinguished by 2pm.