Firefighters suffer second degree burns

Dennis TFebruary 27, 2021

80 1 minute read

Firefighters petrol-bombed and stoned while responding to emergencies

Two firefighters have sustained second-degree burns in the Jonkershoek Valley in Stellenbosch. The fire started on Monday after winds picked up and is estimated to have destroyed over 10,000 hectares of land.

The Cape Winelands Municipal Fire Services said it is investigating the cause of the blaze.

Some residents had to be evacuated on Friday, while others are on standby. The fire service expects to put it out completely only in a few days’ time.

Cape Winelands Fire Services’ Heinrich Louw said, “at this point in time, the fire is still burning out control and burning over an extensive area that spans from the Berg River Dam to Jonkershoek. Unfortunately at this point, the fire is still out of control.

At the moment we predict there are about 10 000 hectares of land that burnt down, land and also vegetation, of course. Yesterday was quite hectic, we had to evacuate and relocate a number of residents, we also had a very unfortunate incident, we had damage to properties – but luckily for us, nobody got hurt, there was no fatalities.”

“Two firefighters sustained second-degree burns, but they were taken to Mediclinic and they were treated there. Currently, we have just over 230 people that are attending to this fire.