Grahamstown not only experienced intense heat over the past week but also raging fires. According to William Welkom, assistant director at the Grahamstown Fire Department, the first fire started in Worcester Street at around 11.30 am.
Grahamstown not only experienced intense heat over the past week but also raging fires. According to William Welkom, assistant director at the Grahamstown Fire Department, the first fire started in Worcester Street at around 11.30 am.
An hour later the fire department managed to extinguish the flames. The second fire also occurred in Worcester Street, closer to Rhodes campus. The fire was reported as having broken out just before 3pm and three hours later it was extinguished.
Welkom says that “fortunately there was very little damage to property”. Welkom explained that fire season usually starts in June and ends in October, but with the recent unexpected rise in temperatures, runaway
fires are to be expected.
Members of the community are encouraged not to throw away empty glass bottles or cigarette butts in potentially flammable areas such as fields as these are often the prime cause of fires.
