Community roleplayers rally to help fight fires
The South Coast has had a record number of fires this winter.
Firefighters have been kept busy this dry winter, and Monday last week was no exception.
Emergency workers responded to a fire at a property at the South African Breweries (SAB) Ltd (also known as AB InBev) Port Shepstone depot in Hudson Road, Marburg.
Simon April, spokesperson for Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM), said their fire crew was immediately dispatched to the scene, and on arrival, they then realised a need for backup from Ugu District Municipality and Umuziwabantu Local Municipality due to the magnitude of the fire.
“The fire crews from the three municipalities fought the blaze for almost the whole day on Monday, and throughout the night, and by the following morning, only a few fire hotspots remained,” said April.
Further help came in the form of the team from Airtrack 101 and Kencrete.
Luckily, there were no injuries reported, and the cause of the fire has not been determined as yet, confirmed April.
Mayor Zodwa Mzindle of RNM thanked everyone for a sterling job, as they managed to contain the fire to the storage building and saved trucks, beer fermentation tankers, nearby buildings, pallets, containers and goods.
Kanyisa Ndyondya, media relations manager for SAB, said they are conducting a thorough investigation to understand the cause of the incident.
“We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the emergency responders and everyone involved in helping top the fire. Their quick and decisive actions ensured the safety of our team and the surrounding community. Our focus remains on the well-being of our employees as we continue to prioritise their safety above all else,” she said.
Shortly before Monday’s blaze, Hendrik Ludick of Airtrack 101 had added firefighting equipment (attached to a 4×4 vehicle) to his fleet of response vehicles.
Ludick, who has years of experience in the police force, fire, medical and aviation sectors, said they have been considering this operation for a long time now.
He said the idea came about when he was flying over the Wild Coast about two years ago.
“We came across a house on fire in Nzimakwe, and I put the helicopter in ‘orbit’, and we orbited the house for about 40 minutes while waiting for assistance,” he said.
Ludick said his staff, who has undergone firefighting training, can now help the community with small fires.
“This is really to assist our farmers or community, as our fire departments’ resources are stretched to the maximum with a massive area to cover,” he added.
On another positive note, Palm Beach now has two fully equipped firefighting trailers ready for action.
Darius Fourie of the Palm Beach Community Police Forum said this great initiative is thanks to generous donations and the hard work of his company.
And, already, the trailer has been put to good use.
A fire in the Palm Beach area last Saturday evening could have got out of control due to the strong winds, but thanks to the quick response time, it was successfully extinguished.
“The foam kits we have on order will significantly improve our response time by at least 50%. These trailers will not only serve our community but also surrounding suburbs in times of need,” said Fourie.
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