Once again residents from the little seaside town of Port Edward united – this time to fight the fires which raged through the area on Thursday this week.

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The village has had no water since Wednesday, which meant additional challenges in fighting the blazes as there was no water available from the fire hydrants.

A call for help was launched and the community sprang into action – with some even running to the rescue with buckets of water.

Peter Brereton, Bugs McClure and Douglas Powell of the Port Edward Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association, together with other members of the community saved the day by fetching and carrying water from boreholes, and working together to douse the blazing thatch roof of a house in Newport Road.

A joint effort and great teamwork ensured that although the roof was damaged, the rest of the house was saved and the fire was prevented from spreading to the nearby property.

Ray Nkonyeni and Ugu Municipality fire departments did sterling work,  ably assisted by Ugu’s Disaster Management team.

Mr Powell, outgoing chairman of the association, confirmed that the situation was under control as the wind had dropped and, after making contact with Ugu Municipal Manager, DD Naidoo, water supply had finally been restored.

“To have no water in the town’s fire hydrants is a serious problem. Were it not for our pro-active community who sprang into action, the situation could have been far worse,” he said.

Questions have been raised as to how and why several fires started at various locations between Marburg and Port Edward last Thursday.

It is believed the Red Desert had been set alight twice and the damage to the grassland was extensive.

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