College moves on after fire
FERNDALE – Thankfully the damage was limited during a fire at Baptist Theological College.
Students and lecturers are grateful the fire at Baptist Theological College caused only minor damage, as they were able to continue with exams, studies and lectures.
The fire on 17 May, which was believed to have started at the transformer in the electrical room, thankfully did not spread to the library next door.
Instead, the electrical room caught fire and smoke rose to damage two studies in the floors above. The outside wall of the building is also blackened, but it seems the structure has remained strong and intact, and little or no structural repair will be needed outside the transformer room.
Registrar at the college, Michael du Toit was grateful to Fire Ops SA for responding and putting the fire out quickly.
“The damage was limited to the aircons, books, windows, carpets, and other things but no property was burnt,” he said.
“The office of the principal and another lecturer were smoke-damaged and they have been working elsewhere since, but we are grateful the fire did not spread to our library, which has some old and very valuable works.”
The students engaged in online learning from home after the fire, but exams were able to be held in a separate room at the college.
City Power installed a new substation for the college on 22 May and power was restored that evening.
“They worked so hard to get everything done amidst a few different challenges,” Du Toit said.
“We are very grateful that the team went the extra mile to ensure our power was restored as soon as possible.”
While there was load shedding in the area at the time of the fire, and it is possible that that caused a surge in the transformer, Du Toit said it is wise to wait for the insurance and City Power reports before speculating about the cause of the fire.
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