Gasant Abarder and Moses Mudzwiti
People whose cars were destroyed or damaged in the blaze at the Kenilworth racecourse on Saturday might receive compensation from the organisers.
Vaughan Norton, chief executive officer of Western Province Racing, hinted on Sunday that his organisation would consider the situation sympathetically. The fire, which broke out in a car park reserved for staff, left 131 vehicles gutted and many others damaged.
"We are concerned about it and we will do whatever is in our power to ease the trauma."
Firefighters and members of the public battled to extinguish the fire which gutted rows of cars, including luxury BMWs, Mercedes Benzes and the latest 4x4 vehicles - parked outside on the dry grass.
Several people whose vehicles were not insured risked their lives trying to save their cars. The shocked owner of a new BMW convertible said he had not yet been able to insure the vehicle, which was gutted.
Casual employee Abubakr Joseph, 24, of Manenberg, watched helplessly as his Citi Golf, which he described as his "oog-appel" (apple of my eye), went up in flames. "It was my dream car. I don't have any insurance. I hope they declare this a disaster. I spent a lot of money building this car up."
Ronald Martin, of Wynberg, was already in a foul mood after losing money at the races when he discovered that his uninsured Datsun had been destroyed. "I came here to win money and have a lekker (nice) day. But now everything is lost."
Anneke Smet, 20, a food services management student from Durbanville who was catering at the Met, was in tears. "I was shocked when I came out. I felt helpless. You can't do anything."
Race organisers J&B, Parallel Media and Western Province Racing will meet on Monday to discuss, among other things, how they can help the victims of the fire.
Western Province Racing marketing manager Lin Hampson said all emergency systems had been put in place for the big day, but somehow the fire defied all preparations.
"We had a huge contingent of security personnel - twice our requirement, but we still do not know what happened in the car park."
Hampson said it was fortunate there were no casualties. Only a few people suffered from smoke inhalation.
"This was probably the best J&B Met. We received tremendous assistance from the CMC with traffic control and parking arrangements," said Hampson.
Provincial police spokesperson Rod Beer said provincial head of detective services Andre du Toit, had visited the scene and was satisfied there was no evidence of arson.
Beer said the fire is believed to have spread from a field near the parking lot where a fire had been extinguished earlier in the day.
However, police spokesperson Mark Romburgh said: "We are looking at all possibilities and we cannot rule out arson."
Community Safety MEC Mark Wiley said that soon after the fire police had received reports of suspicious-looking people in the car park before the fire.
Efforts to contact the heads of insurance companies on Sunday to estimate the damage proved fruitless, but one clerk said insurers would cover those owners who had comprehensive policies or extended third party and fire policies.
The former graveyard where the vehicles were damaged is believed to be owned by the municipality, but this could not be confirmed. - Cape Times