Cape Town firefighters tackle two deadly blazes, resulting in four fatalities
Two separate fires broke out on Friday morning across Cape Town.
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The City of Cape Town’s firefighters had a busy start to their Friday with two separate fires during the early morning hours.
The fire incidents took place in Nyanga and Delft. Four people died in one of the fires.
The City of Cape Town’s spokesperson for Fire and Rescue Services, Jermaine Carelse, said the first incident was reported just after 1am.
“At around 1.05am, we received calls of vehicles alight at the Nyanga taxi rank in Emms Drive. Several crews were dispatched to the scene, including the Incident Management Team (IMT) Type 5. Crews managed to contain and extinguish the fire by 2am,” Carelse said.
The preliminary reports revealed that five Quantum minibus taxis and four Iveco Sprinters were destroyed during the blaze.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is currently unknown.
About an hour later, the City’s Fire and Rescue Services were notified of another fire just after 3am.
Carelse said information received was of structures alight on the corner of Main and Sandelhout Street in Delft South.
“Crews from Belhar, Landsdowne, Bellville, and Mitchell’s Plain were on scene, including the Incident Management Team (IMT) Type 5. Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze by 6.45am. The cause of the fire is unknown,” Carelse said.
He said three structures comprising a fruit and vegetable stall, a gym, and a gas cylinder outlet were damaged during the blaze.
“Approximately 24 gas cylinders were removed and placed on the pavement away from the hot zone. Sadly, the bodies of four adult males were found with fatal burn wounds inside the makeshift gym. The South African Police Service (SAPS) will investigate the cause of this incident,” Carelse said.
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