Tyre depot blaze exposes North’s fire protection flaws

Behind the road and school closures in Pretoria North this week after the tyre depot inferno in Klerksoord lies a deeper crisis: The fire has laid bare how exposed northern communities are to pollution and how weak the firefighting infrastructure in Pretoria North has become.

Willem Cruywagen Street remained closed between Diamant Street and Daan de Wet Nel Drive for a week as smoke billowed from the tyre factory blaze.

The road will possibly stay shut until at least August 22 and 23 this weekend, while fire crews and heavy machinery continue the battle.

For days, thick, black smoke blanketed neighbourhoods across Pretoria North and further afield.

Parents kept children indoors, asthmatics struggled to breathe, and schools reported complaints of headaches and nausea among learners.

Freedom Front Plus councillor Rina Marx, who has been investigating the facility for nearly two years, did not mince her words. “I had this place investigated since early last year and again since a few weeks ago because of several health-related complaints and contraventions. There were follow-up inspections again because of non-compliance. Both air pollution and health inspections were done,” Marx said.

According to Marx, who has a medical background, ongoing smoke and chemical inhalation can cause severe respiratory distress, aggravation of asthma, carbon monoxide poisoning and even contribute to chronic lung disease.

“One resident could not go outside for the past few days since the fire started because of the ongoing smoke. Her asthma had been aggravated for the past two years with the ongoing air pollution,” she said. “This pollution affects both air and ground and can spread to the water table. Patients can also develop heart-related illnesses. My concern has been raised with environmental health for a long time, but reports have been delayed. Why must residents suffer this long before action is taken?”

Residents echo the frustration about the state of firefighting in the north. One related to Rekord an incident where the metro removed a vehicle that was in the possession of a firefighting association for years, which was used on the Pretoria North holdings to fight fires.

This organisation maintained the vehicle all the time and had it recently completely refurbished, only to see it taken away. According to the resident, it is now standing idle at Centurion Fire Station.

“These properties are approximately 15km from the nearest fire station. They could contain most fires while waiting for the bigger fire engines to arrive. Now they have nothing to fight fires.”

The fire has also revived long-standing concerns about water supply for firefighting.

DA councillor Mickey van der Westhuizen said a serious oversight has still not been corrected.

“The metro in Region 1’s water department closed a reference number of a fire hydrant in Daan de Wet Nel Drive, but it was never fixed or attended to since September 21, 2023. It has now been unattended for almost two years,” he said.

He feels that after the fire in Klerksoord this past weekend, it is unacceptable that the case could be closed without actual repairs.

“What if a fire breaks out in the area and the fire brigade cannot get water? I believe these references are being closed to show on the system that Region 1 is meeting targets, but in truth, the water team is underfunded, has no extra teams and has to service 28 wards. The metro must look into this matter with urgency, because it is failing its residents in a possibly life-threatening issue.”

The metro’s response confirms the scale of the disaster.

MMC for Environment and Agriculture Management Obakeng Ramabodu said, “The cause of the fire is currently unknown, and the volume of tyre stockpiles involved has not been established. However, the magnitude of the fire is substantial, and it is estimated that the incident may persist for an extended period, up to over a week, before being fully extinguished.”

He warned that thick smoke containing particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other hazardous pollutants posed serious risks.

“The incident is envisaged to be classified as a major incident in terms of Section 30 of the National Environmental Management Act. Air quality monitoring is being implemented, and results will guide response measures and public advisories,” Ramabodu said.

“Consequently, extensive involvement of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is expected.”

Meanwhile, civic organisation AfriForum had to step in from Tuesday with equipment to help exhausted fire crews.

“Our north of the mountain branch made a bulldozer available at our own cost to assist with fighting the fire after the big blaze on Saturday,” said AfriForum district co-ordinator Llewellynn Hemmens. “We cannot sit back and watch while the community and firefighters are endangered. We had to act.”

While AfriForum’s volunteers and local residents scrambled to plug the gaps, private fire services were reportedly turned away from the scene by metro officials on the day of the blaze. This despite the metro still fighting a court case to have such services declared unlawful.

“The events of the past few days show exactly the opposite of the metro’s claims,” said AfriForum’s legal spokesperson Arno Roodt.

“Private services are essential to protect lives and property. Just like with collapsing water and electricity networks, the metro’s ability to manage fire safety has crumbled.”

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