No dogs harmed in raging fire at Pretoria dog shelter
Pretoria Dog Rescue and Underdogs SA Pitbull Rehabilitation Centre battled the blaze along with emergency services throughout the night.
Firefighters, community members, and security workers battled a veld fire near Thaba Tshwane until the early hours of the morning before it was safely extinguished.
The fire threatened to spread to Pretoria Dog Rescue (PDR) and Underdogs SA Pitbull Rehabilitation Centre.
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson, Lindsay Mnguni, said that two firefighting units from Philip Nel Park and Atteridgeville fire stations managed to extinguish the grass fire.
“I am so thankful and so proud of our community. It makes me want to cry with joy,” said PDR CEO Celia van Zyl.
She confirmed that no dogs were harmed in the fire.
Van Zyl explained that she and Reinette Le Roux, PDR’s director, did not usually go to the site on Fridays, but when they arrived on Friday afternoon, they noticed a veld fire in the distance.
“It looked far away initially, but then we realised that it was coming closer,” said Van Zyl.
The pair and other staff at the animal shelter began wetting the nearby vegetation to help stave off the fire.
“The fire spread towards our side, we were so scared that the huge blue gum trees would catch alight. At some stage it looked like the fire was almost in the kennels at Underdogs”, added Van Zyl.
She said that members of the LytCom and KROC CPF, Tshwane Fire Department, and ADT Fidelity came through to assist in fighting the fire.
“The firefighters couldn’t get to the fire properly because our buildings were between them and the veld fire, luckily we had the dog walking path which acted as a fire break.”
She said that they had begun to make plans to evacuate the dogs from the site to keep them safe.
“By god’s grace and mercy, they managed to extinguish the fire. It was amazing what they did.”
By 02:30 on Saturday morning, the fire was extinguished.
She thanked those who helped, saying, “I am so overwhelmed by all the amazing people who helped us.”
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