Clairwood fire extinguished but sparked safety concerns

THE fire that broke out on 4 Teakwood Road in Clairwood yesterday has been safely put out. Shaun Venter, from RTL8, said that the fire was fully contained around 22:27 yesterday evening (December 30).

Also read: Residents urged to evacuate as fire breaks out in Clairwood

Ward 66 councillor, Zoë Solomon, clarified that, contrary to initial reports, it was a diesel flowbin that was on fire and not a pipeline.

According to Desmond D’sa from the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, this has been happening all too often.

“In the past six to eight weeks, there have been three major fires in South Durban,” said D’sa.

D’sa said a disgruntled group of Clairwood residents said they were a forgotten community which government ignored and treated as if their lives were cheap, as they bore the potential risk of injury or even death as they lived “cheek and jowl” near the toxic and dangerous pipelines, hazardous trucks and chemical storage facilities.

Equally alarming, many said, was the complete absence of an emergency response plan.

“Many frantic residents from afield could see this blaze and stated no emergency evacuation had kicked in and no sirens went off,” said D’sa.

D’sa further slammed years of government inertia, saying, “Where is the emergency plan, which has been promised to community since 1998, for the residents of South Durban. We call on a team of legal professionals who would want to assist the residents of South Durban against the government’s failure to provide a safe and secure environment for their families and community,” he said.

This incident has revived calls for immediate action to mitigate the risks to the communities of South Durban.

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