No injuries were reported when a Pietermaritzburg monument went up in flames on Friday morning.

Mi7 emergency services, SAPS and the Pietermaritzburg fire department were on scene.

A source, who asked not to be named, said the fire started at the national monument on Trelawney Road.

“It appears the fire started from the grass and went on to the trees. The trees then passed the fire to leaves and dirt that was on top of the roof and that is how the fire spread. The houses next to it also caught alight, but luckily no one has been reported injured,” said the source who added that the police will be investigating further.

History of the Pentrich station

Pietermaritzburg Gandhi memorial committee chairperson David Gengen said the station on Trelawney Road had been in disuse for about 30 to 40 years.

He added it was used whenever dignitaries were brought in, saying that they used to start there and then bring them to the main station.

Another source said the monument is called the Pentrich station.

She added that the first one in Woods Road burnt down a few years ago when fire break burning got out of control.

“This station, built in 1906 to serve the mainly Indian community and to connect to the Mkhondeni line, has strong associations with the struggle against apartheid, especially since the Indian community was forcibly removed to the northern suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s. A third station was built in the 1950s to serve the new electrified main line between Durban and Johannesburg,” said the source.

She added that the station was abandoned after the community it had served moved away.