Cresslawn property gutted by fire
An Alwyn Street, Croydon, property burned to ashes following a battle with flames that threatened adjacent properties on Saturday night. According to Eric Maloka from DEMS, the fire was reported at 5.55pm on April 10.
He explained: “Once services arrived on scene, the house was already well alight and the team had to focus on protecting the adjacent properties from catching alight. The team fully extinguished the house by midnight and ensured hotspot control until Sunday morning at 11am.”
Maloka confirmed that there was no entrapment or loss of human life and animals were rushed to safety. One property next to the burning house was partially affected, while the other adjacent property sustained some damage to external cupboards.
“Two major pumps, one medium rescue pump and a hydraulic platform (HP) pump were commissioned to the scene, in addition to a total of 21 personnel and firefighters.”
The first fire station to respond was Kempton Park, followed by back-up assistance from surrounding stations such as Edenvale, Commercia and Thembisa.
Maloka stated: “The cause of the fire is related to a faulty geyser that was reported to the insurance by the affected household. The contractor that was sent by the insurance to facilitate repairs was still present on the property by the time the fire erupted.”
The scene that unfolded on Saturday evening featured frustrated neighbouring spectators who told Express the emergency and fire services took an hour to respond.
“The local security company had to rush to the station to report the fire before someone could respond to the scene,” one neighbour said. To this delay, Maloka wished to emphasise the importance of noting the correct emergency service contact details as incidents are not telephonically reported to the appropriate channels.
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“There has been a considerable amount of confusion about what the exact contact numbers are, and we urge people to contact The Direct Fire and Rescue Unit on 011 458 0911 (readers should note that this no longer includes ambulance) and ambulance services on 011 564 2210/2211.”
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