Cape Town - The Hilite Job Buyers textile warehouse in Athlone caught alight in the early hours of Friday morning and was badly damaged. Fire and Rescue services spokesman Theo Layne said four fire engines, one ladder-bearing truck and a rescue vehicle with 24 firefighters responded to a fire in Belgravia Estate, Athlone at about 4am.
Layne said the fire was contained to the dispatch and warehouse storage area, but the structure sustained significant damage. The shop sales area sustained smoke damage only and no injuries were reported as the building was unoccupied at the time.
Layne said firefighters were on the scene for several hours.
Hilite Job Buyers owner Joe Mohammed said on Friday that what happened to his business was a sad loss.
“It’s a sad loss, not just for me, but for a lot of people. People bought from us to sell, they were dependent on us for their living. So its quite a loss for the community.”
He said four people who worked for him were now unemployed as a result of the blaze. “It will be impossible to do any work at the factory, we’ll need a new building.”
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Cape Argus