Disused train carriages catch fire in Woodstock

The initial response to the Woodstock shunting yard fire comprised five firefighting appliances, a rescue vehicle and 21 staff members. File photo: Supplied

The initial response to the Woodstock shunting yard fire comprised five firefighting appliances, a rescue vehicle and 21 staff members. File photo: Supplied

Published Jul 21, 2019

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Cape Town – A firefighter sustained a minor injury after the City's Fire and Rescue Service was called out just before 8pm on Sunday after disused train carriages caught fire in Woodstock.

"At 19.55pm tonight, the City's Fire & Rescue Service responded to train carriages alight in the Shunting Yard in Woodstock," said spokesperson Jermaine Carelse. 

"The initial response comprised five firefighting appliances, a rescue vehicle and 21 staff members."

Upon arrival the officer in charge discovered that it was disused wooden carriages on different railway lines that had caught fire and additional resources were called upon, Carelse added.

"Currently, we have 10 firefighting appliances on the scene battling the blaze," he said at 9.28pm.

The fire was eventually extinguished at 1.35am.

On June 5, Metrorail technicians had to repair overhead equipment after a train carriage snagged the overhead wires, which resulted in a fire on a carriage at the Woodstock station.

On July 8, two carriages were damaged when a train caught alight outside Cape Town in the evening. One carriage was completely destroyed and one partially damaged by the fire.

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