After falling victim to a vicious farm fire recently, owner Joseph Maso says the cause of the fire is still unknown but that the damage exceeds R3,5 million.
On 27 June Maso had to stand and watch as equipment and animal feed went up in flames.
While the cause remains an investigation Maso suspects an electrical problem triggered the fire.
“After closer investigation, I can confirm that the damage caused by the fire exceeds R3,5 Million,” Maso said.
He adds that he lost countless feed such as straw bales, mielies and dog food in the fire as well as various machinery and even a quad bike was obliterated in the fire.
“Luckily I still have feed and mielies that was stored in another warehouse on the property to insure an income over the coming months,” Maso continued.
Fire on farm causes havoc
A farm owner Joseph Maso had to stand and watch as his machinery and animal feed valued at approximately R2,8 Million went up in flames over the weekend.
Maso explained that on Friday 27 June at around 8.45pm he received a call from his farm workers informing him that his storage unit on the premises is on fire.
“I immediately contacted EPR and soon thereafter I contacted the fire department,” Maso said.
The Randfontein Fire Department arrived at the scene 40 minutes after.
Maso explained further the storage area was filled with straw and other feeds for his animals as well as several expensive machines used on a daily basis.
Fortunately no one was on the premises when the incident occurred. It is at this stage unclear how the fire started.
An eyewitness and EPR security officer, August Hiepner says the Randfontein Fire Department tried to extinguish the fire but was unsuccessful in this regard.
Bystanders added the Randfontein fire truck on scene ran out of water within the first several minutes and was unable to contain the fire – this was evident in the video footage caught by a bystander on the scene.
After running out of water, the Randfontein Fire Department left the scene in order to get more water.
However, during this time fire trucks from both the Krugersdorp Fire Department and the Westonaria Fire Department arrived at the scene.
The Regional Cammander for Mogale City, Gerhard Nieuwoudt and Krugersdorp Fire Department took control of the situation and within minutes they managed to contain the fire.
However, due to the extensive damage to the equipment in the storage unit, it was to no avail.
Soon after the fire was contained, the Randfontein Fire Department returned to the scene, but seeing that all the straw and other feed was up in flames, nothing could be done to extinguish the fire and all that was left to do was to ensure that the fire does not reach other buildings on the premises.
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