A fire can be a weapon of mass destruction if it is not controlled or put out.
On Sunday, July 19 a Lapa in Birkholtz Street.
It is suspected that the cause of the fire was due to braaing it was possibly smouldering and later ignited.
But the response was fast enough from the Emalahleni firefighters with the SACCW (South African Community Crime Watch) team working together and assisted to combat the fire before it caused further damage.
Charles Steyn, Head of SACCW Fire Department said: “The team was first on the scene to lend a hand and control the lapa fire, the eMalahleni EMS FD Volunteers is always standing strong to deliver a strong reaction service for our community”
No injuries were obtained during the fire.
The following safety precautions should be in place to prevent lapa fires.
In cases where a chimney penetrates the roof of any thatch structure, it should be constructed in such a way that the exterior in contact with the thatch cannot become hot. In normal chimneys a full brick thickness (220 mm) is necessary to satisfy this requirement.
All mortar joints in the stack must be properly filled.
Dress the area where the chimney stack penetrates the roof plane with sheet metal or fibreglass reinforced polyester flashing over and underneath the top surface as well as between the layers of the thatch.
The width of the flashing should be at least 250mm.
The chimney should be one meter higher than the thatch roof.
A spark arrestor, fitted not less than 700mm from the top of the stack must be provided in all chimney stacks.
The typical spark arrestor comprises of a 10 x 10 mm (minimum) section of stainless steel wire mesh across the full width of the flue and securely built into the flue around the edges or supported on mild steel dowels.
Have the chimney flues cleaned at least once a year to avoid an accumulation of soot which can ignite or generate sparks.
Keep an area of up to 25m around the lapa clear of unkept plants, grass and weeds to prevent fire hazards from sparks.
This condition however does not apply to cultivated and maintained lawns and gardens.
Have fire fighting equipment ready on site.
In compliance with the National Building Regulation 12, you are responsible for the testing and servicing of the equipment once a year to ensure that it would be ready for use at all times.
In most cases a four kilogram dry powder fire extinguisher should be sufficient.
It might be a good preventative measure to use treated grass for the thatch but it is not compulsory.
