Three house fires have broken out in Brackenfell over the past two weeks.
In the most recent incident on Sunday night, a fire tore through a garage in Iris Close, Protea Heights, destroying two vehicles. According to information received by TygerBurger, both cars exploded during the blaze.
An elderly couple managed to escape unharmed after the power went out and the woman noticed flames coming from the garage, a source at the scene reported.
According to Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for the City’s fire and rescue service, the emergency call was received at 19:15.
“Fire crews from Brackenfell and Kraaifontein fire stations were on scene and managed to extinguish the blaze that damaged the garage and storeroom by 20:30,” says
Carelse.
“No injuries were reported and the cause has not been identified.”
Gas explosion
In an earlier incident on Thursday, a woman sustained third-degree burn wounds in a house fire on Witteboom Street in Protea Village, caused by a gas explosion.
This fire broke out at around 15:30.
The first emergency call was received by SJC Security on a neighbourhood group at 15:30, whereafter an armed response officer and members of SJC Tactical unit rushed to the scene.
“Being first on the scene they started dousing the fire with hosepipes along with the neighbours,” Charl du Toit of SCJ Secuity told TygerBurger.
According to eye witnesses, residents escaped the house in time but were trapped in the backyard. SJC members assisted rescue services to carry the injured women over the wall from the backyard.
An ambulance from Titanium Ambulance Services arrived on the scene at 15:40.
“As we arrived, the first fire truck stopped in front of the house. We found the woman lying on the grass. She had sustained burn wounds. We stabilised her on scene and transported her to Tygerberg Hospital,” said Kobus Kotze, spokesperson for Titanium Ambulance Services.
Fire crews from Brackenfell and Kuils River were on scene, and the fire was extinguished at around 18:50, according to Carelse.
“The dwelling sustained substantial structural damages and three people were displaced as a result of this fire, seeming to be a gas explosion. The South African Police Service was requested to further investigate the matter,” says Carelse.
Station commander of Brackenfell police confirmed that an enquiry had been opened by police.
Woman dies
The first of the recent fires in Brackenfell occurred on Sunday 17 August on Gladiolus Street, claiming the life of a 41-year-old woman and reducing the home to rubble, leaving six people displaced.
Fire and rescue services received the call at 08:54, with three firefighting crews arriving on the scene by 09:00, according to Carelse.
The other residents of the house were standing outside.
“At one point, a structural engineer was called in due to signs that the building might collapse. The fire was eventually extinguished shortly after 11:00,” he says.
“Tragically, the woman’s body was discovered in the loft room of the house.”
According to Brackenfell Police Station commander, Col Jakobus Marthinus, the woman was likely overcome by smoke and unable to escape the flames in time. The cause of the fire remains undetermined. Marthinus told TygerBurger that a fire investigator and K9 unit were to be called in to assist with the police investigation.
TygerBurger followed up on the investigation on 25 August but had not received a response from police at the time of publication.
