Metrofile to investigate cause of fire
The cause of the fire at Metrofile in Westmead is still a mystery.
CLOUDS of smoke and a smouldering fire were still visible at a Metrofile storage warehouse in Westmead on Monday after a fire broke out in the building on Friday night.
Firefighters were still trying to put out the fire which had been burning for three days.
Fire department regional commander in the west, Bheki Hadebe, said it is still not clear what started the fire but there is an external contractor which will be investigating the matter.
“We are not sure when to expect the result as investigations could take a few weeks or even months.”
He said the reason the fire continued to burn for days after it started is because there are stacks of papers and cardboard which make it difficult for water to penetrate.
“There are also a lot of metal rods holding the building up which the fire department cannot touch until the external contractor removes them after the investigations,” added Hadebe.
Workers in the area said this is the second fire to hit Metrofile as there was a fire in 2007 in the same building.
Guy Kimble, managing director of Metrofile Records management said the cause of the fire is still to be determined.
“The fire was contained and fortunately no one was injured. The company has commenced with a full investigation into the cause of the incident and is determining which client records have been affected. All clients whose records have been affected will be contacted directly.
”We would like to extend our thanks to our regional management team and staff, the Fire and Emergency Services of the eThekwini municipality for their swift response time, as well as the local community and business owners for their assistance and support,” said Kimble.
