Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

The SA National Defence Force aero-firefighting team has joined the city’s firefighting services in battling a blaze in the Helderberg region.

Disaster Risk Management spokes-man Wilfred Solomons said the fire, which started at about 3pm yesterday, had covered a very large area and had spread rapidly.

Although danger to property has been averted, vegetation has been extensively affected and Cape Nature Conservation has been contacted to conduct an assessment of the damage.

The SANDF aerial firefighters joined the ground team of about 26 firefighting vehicles and volunteers from the Working on Fire programme shortly before 7am today.

The fire broke out next to Helderberg College in a nature conservation area. The cause of the fire is yet to be established.

At another fire in Induland Crescent in the Lansdowne industrial area, fire and other rescue personnel had to evacuate onlookers after a fire broke out at the Momar factory which produces cleaning detergents.

A large number of firefighters and nine fire trucks were dispatched to the scene just after 7pm last night, but by 9pm large flames and a thick cloud of black smoke could still be seen at the building.

When the Cape Argus arrived on the scene, a large crowd had gathered in the street while police and Metro Police cordoned off the immediate area to vehicles.

Solomons said they had evacuated nearby residents as it was not clear what chemicals were used at the factory. It was later established that these were not harmful.

However, three firefighters were treated for skin irritation and Sol-omons cautioned anyone in the vicinity who felt nauseous to consult a doctor or clinic.

The fire was later extinguished and no other property was damaged.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Abduragmaan Mohamed, owner of the neighbouring shop, Mr Cheap, arrived at the scene to check on his store. “Luckily nothing was damaged, but Momar is terribly burnt,” he said.

Solomons said emergency services were on high alert this weekend, as temperatures of 29ºC with strong winds were expected today, with a high of 30ºC tomorrow.