Cape Town - The fire that destroyed a department at an Atlantis textile factory has left workers concerned over their future income.
The fire broke out at Rotex Factory’s finishing department at 10pm on Tuesday.
It destroyed not only heaps of fabric, but left the room charred, soaked in water and could have possibly damaged some machinery.
On Wednesday, the company’s management was still waiting on engineers to assess the building and equipment. Workers had to return home and were told they would be updated as to when work would resume.
It is alleged the fire broke out at the heat setting machine, where materials are prepared before being dyed.
A newly-appointed fitter, Denzil Michillies said he had been working at the factory for four weeks and he was concerned whether this fire would cost him his job.
“We don’t know what to do. We are just waiting for a response from management so we can work out a plan.
“A lot of machines were damaged inside so things are bad,” said Michillies.
The fitter said he was married and his wife was unemployed.
“I need to figure out a plan for my two-year-old son. This is the only income we have at home; if I lose money it means my family is going to be deprived of a lot of things,” he said.
A processor at the factory, Anele Mkambayi, said he was also concerned about the potential loss of income, but had hopes the company would overcome this and “make a plan”.
“We do have a Stenter machine which was bought recently. We don’t think it was damaged by the fire. If it works then it can make up the load from all the damaged machines.
“We can work properly with the new machine, but we will have to wait for the bosses for an answer,” said Mkambayi.
When the Cape Argus arrived at the factory, scores of trolleys stacked with 320kg of material had been damaged.
The roof of the finishing room had also been damaged.
Siegfried Rohner, the co-owner of the factory, said the damage would cost the company.
He said they have already made contact with the insurance company and would ensure the workers were taken care of.
“It will take time before we know the amount of damage and before the insurance company handles everything,” said Rohner.
Cape Argus