Durban – Authorities say damage estimated at R10 million was caused when a fire ripped through the 25th floor of a well-known Durban “skyscraper” on Wednesday night.
The blaze, which started about 5.30pm, occurred at the Redefine Towers building – known as 320 West Street – in Pixley ka Seme Street (formerly West).
Trevor Stevens, divisional commander of the Durban Fire Department, said on Thursday that they were in the process of isolating the cause of the fire.
“It’s too early to tell what caused the fire, but there was a huge amount of damage to that floor. We are still compiling our report.”
Stevens said they estimated the damage at between R10 million and R15 million. General office equipment like computers, chairs, tables, books and files were all destroyed, he said. “Nearly 30 air conditioning units were also burnt up, adding to the costs.”
eThekwini municipal spokesman Mandla Nsele said there was no immediate indication of what had started the fire.
Buildingfire at 320 West Street in Durban Central. https://t.co/nH82PfkOrl @rescuecare #DurbanFire @EMERGCONTROL pic.twitter.com/jziGWaAKau
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) December 28, 2016
“The fire was confined to the south wing of the building on the 25th floor. There was minor damage to the 26th floor, water damage to the 24th floor and smoke damage to the floors above the 25th floor,” he said. There were no injuries or fatalities to either civilians or members of the Metro Fire Brigade who battled for about four hours to extinguish the blaze, which was fanned by strong winds.
Stevens said the fire department received the call at 5.45pm on Wednesday and the blaze – fanned by heavy winds – was put out by 10pm.
“By then, all we had to do was damp down the floor to make sure there were no hot spots, where the fire could flare up again.”
He said there was initially a problem with the water pressure that slowed down their approach.
“Generally what happens is that we use our water supply to boost the water system in the building,” he said.
“This is done so that the pressure is high enough to run our hoses so that the stream can reach the 25th floor, in this case.”
The barrier to achieving this level of pressure, he said, was related to the building’s system and was quickly rectified by the building’s maintenance team.
“With their help, we managed to get under way quite fast.”
To contain the blaze, the fire department deployed 20 firefighters, four fire engines, two water tanks and a heavy rescue vehicle, he said.
Comment could not be obtained from Redefine Properties.