Leopards bush fire

BURGERSFORT – Three children, who were playing with firecrackers, set the veld alight and the ensuing fire nearly destroyed a house in Leopards Bush on Thursday.

According to an employee from National Guarding Security, Mr Drickus Crause, three frantic kids came running to the security control room in the residential area, informing him that they had been playing with the crackers which led to the fire.

Crause and his co-workers rushed to the scene and realised that, with the wind picking up, the flames could spread rapidly.

The fire department was summoned while they tried to control the blaze by using buckets of water. At that stage the fire was spreading towards one of the houses. Crause and his employer, Ms Jenny Oosthuizen, were using a hosepipe and shovels to control the flames. “We didn’t even care if there were dogs in the yard or the fact that we were trespassing on someone else’s property, we just wanted to save the house,” explained Crause.

The fire department reacted quickly and extinguished the fire.

Without the swift thinking of the National Guarding team, the damage could have been far greater.

The children’s parents were contacted, and as punishment, they have to collect litter throughout the entire Leopards Bush premises for the duration of the school holiday.