Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

Police are investigating a case of arson after three separate fires began on the slopes of the Helderberg mountain yesterday afternoon.

Fanned by powerful south-easterly winds, the fires spread quickly and burned through the night.

Early this morning the SANDF aero-firefighting team joined the ground team with their 26 firefighting vehicles and volunteers from the Working on Fire programme.

Disaster Risk Management spokesman Wilfred Solomons said the fire had spread rapidly, covering a large area. Although danger to property had been averted, damage to vegetation was being assessed by Cape Nature Conservation.

The cause of the fire, which broke out next to Helderberg College in a nature conservation area, is yet to be established but sources said a man had been witnessed deliberately starting the fires.

By midday today, the fires were still burning about 500m below the mountain’s rock face, but the chopper teams water-bombing the flames appeared to be winning the battle.

At another fire yesterday, rescue personnel had to evacuate onlookers after a fire broke out at the Momar detergent factory in the Lansdowne industrial area.

A 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 ar-rived, a large crowd had gathered and police had cordoned off the 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 Solomons cautioned anyone in the vicinity who felt nauseous to consult a doctor c.