More fire fighters to help W Cape

Cape Town - 130128 - Residents and firefighters in Wemmershoek battle a raging veld-fire with help from helicopters. Reporter: YOLISA TSWAYNA. PHOTOGRAPH: WILLEM LAW

Cape Town - 130128 - Residents and firefighters in Wemmershoek battle a raging veld-fire with help from helicopters. Reporter: YOLISA TSWAYNA. PHOTOGRAPH: WILLEM LAW

Published Jan 29, 2013

Share

Cape Town - More fire-fighting teams will be brought in to assist as the blaze on the Western Cape mountains continues, Working on Fire (WoF) said on Tuesday.

WoF spokesman Linton Rensburg said a meeting of disaster management teams, fire-fighters and government officials on Tuesday afternoon decided that 10 more fire-fighting teams should be brought in.

“The 10 teams come from across the country and by tomorrow we should have around 395 more fire fighters here,” he said.

A total of 14 teams had initially been deployed to fight the blaze.

Five other teams who had been on standby were brought in from the Eastern Cape and Free State on Tuesday morning, said Rensburg.

While the fire in the Cederberg mountains was contained in the early hours of the morning, Rensburg said they were still battling with the one in the Franschoek area.

“We are working around the clock. We have helicopters and water bombers deployed,” he said.

Around 10 helicopter water bombers, eight spotter planes, eight fixed wing water bombers and 37 pilots have been deployed by WoF to fight the fires. - Sapa

Related Topics: