From raging inferno to smouldering embers

THE fire at a Durban south warehouse yesterday continued to smoulder but officials said it was under control.

Durban fire department divisional commander Owen Singh was unavailable for comment last night but earlier in the day he said that the fire was under control “in terms of spread”.

“Now it’s down to managing the smoke issues, from an environmental perspective, and that might take a few days,” he said in a video on Twitter.

He said the materials which burnt would continue to smoulder for a while.

The 52-acre warehouse complex, believed to have been the biggest in the southern hemisphere before it was razed, was used to store a variety of products, including plastic polymers, wax panels, phosphate, fertiliser, chemicals and lucerne when it caught alight at around 9.30am on Friday.

It is believed that people on site were using a cutting torch at the time and this may have been how the fire started.

Hundreds of firefighters, officers from SAPS Search and Rescue Unit and medics from private ambulance services, including Rescue Care and Netcare 911, have been battling the blaze over the last four days.

One civilian and at least two firefighters have been admitted to hospital since it started.

Questions around fire safety measures at the site have since emerged.

The Mercury yesterday reported that the water supply might have been shut off when the fire started.

In addition, there was no water supply to the closest fire hydrants and the fire suppression system in the warehouse may not have met requirements. – Mercury Reporter