Firefighters battle blaze at recycling company in Wadeville
Eskom electricians had to be called in to isolate the power supply from the pylons
Ekurhuleni firefighters are battling a blaze at a recycling company in Wadeville, which emergency services anticipate could take days to completely put out due to the fire load on the premises.
William Ntaldi, spokesperson for Ekurhuleni Emergency Services, on Wednesday afternoon said firefighters from Wadeville Fire Station, assisted by crews from Alberton, Hlahatsi and Boksburg Central fire stations, all worked tirelessly throughout the night under extreme dangerous conditions.
The call was received around 9.20pm on Tuesday evening and the first pump arrived on scene a few minutes thereafter.
He said compressed paper material/bales were stacked underneath live high voltage electrical cables running across Commercial Street in the Wadeville industrial area in Germiston. The fire was burning vigorously last night, encapsulating the bigger area of the company. Flames projected intense heat onto electrical cables which could snap.
“Eskom electricians had to be called in to isolate the power supply from the pylons which are said to convey 88Kv. Prior to the isolation, defensive fire operations were put in place to prevent the fire from spreading.”
Secondary to that, a ground level fuel tank of unknown capacity was engulfed by flames. “Such fuel tanks have the potential to create internal vapor pressure which lead to explosions. Firefighters had to continuously cool it with copious amount of water,” Ntladi added.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined and is under investigation.
