Recycling yard in Spartan goes up in flames
There is debate about the arrest of a suspect in connection with the fire.
Contradicting reports of the arrest of a suspect linked to the fire that occurred at a recycling company in Spartan on Sunday afternoon emerged.According to ward councillor Simon Lapping, one suspect was arrested.
“Metro police officers confirmed it to me that one suspect was arrested for allegedly causing the fire,” said Lapping.
“It appears the suspect had started a small fire but the wind spread the fire out of control. As there were a lot of tyres and other things dumped there, the fire just spiralled out of control.”
Although Lapping was on the scene and told Express he saw the suspect being put into a police vehicle, Kempton Park SAPS reported differently.
Capt Jethro Mtshali, spokesperson for Kempton Park SAPS, said on Monday: “We don’t have a record of a suspect arrested for arson or in connection with the fire.
“At this stage, there is no case opened or pending regarding the fire. We are waiting for the fire department’s report which will indicate the cause of the fire and we will take it from there.”
The company is situated on Plane Road close to the Len Futcher Building near the subway.
According to David Tshabalala, district operation manager at Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS), the call was lodged around 1.14pm.
“By the time we arrived, the place was already well alight and backup from Commercia Fire Station in Tembisa and Leon Ferreira Fire Station arrived to assist Kempton Park,” said Tshabalala.
“No one was injured during the fire and investigations will reveal the exact cause.”
Lapping told Express he heard the fire reignited again soon after it was put out but that the firefighters managed to get it under control.
Tshabalala denied any claims of the fire reigniting and said: “The team worked for hours to extinguish the fire. White smoke emanated from the remains when a TLB was used to dismantle the heap from where the smoke was coming from in order to effectively ensure the fire was extinguished.”
Tshabalala concluded that the team worked until 8pm.
