Claims have been made that when fire engines arrived to douse the fire that razed a swathe of homes in Masiphumelele on Saturday December 10, they ran out of water before the flames were extinguished, but the City of Cape Town has refuted these claims.
“I have personally been told by so many victims of the fire (who lost everything they owned) that when two fire engines arrived, they soon ran out of water and left the scene,” said Fish Hoek resident Rose Milbank.
“Victims and community members were left to fight the fire with just buckets of water while a strong wind fanned the fire, which spread quickly,” she said.
When the False Bay Echo asked fire department spokeswoman Liezl Moodie whether this was true she said the water pressure in nearby fire hydrants were found to be low and that fire fighters had been forced to call back-up to the scene.
Ten fire trucks were eventually deployed to Masiphumelele, she said.
