Makana Fire Chief William Welkom says students evacuated from the Grand Res in High Street, Grahamstown this afternoon were not at risk and that an electrical fire at the establishment was quickly contained.
Makana Fire Chief William Welkom says students evacuated from the Grand Res in High Street, Grahamstown this afternoon were not at risk and that an electrical fire at the establishment was quickly contained.
There was drama in lower High Street this afternoon as around 100 students gathered on the pavement in front of the Grand Res student residence in the late afternoon.
Gadra Matric School student Chulumanco Mgobo said she'd been studying maths with friends at the Cottages (self-contained units) at the back of the main building.
Shortly after 4pm when she left to return to her room, she saw smoke, then flames, coming from an electrical box at the back of the building.
"I ran to reception to warn them and get help," she said.
First she and some of the student reps tried using a fire extinguisher on it.
"We tried but there was still fire, so we called the Fire Department," she said.
Meanwhile manager Melinda Botha had evacuated all the students on to the street, where they sheltered from pouring rain under the adjacent shop awning. Botha told Grocott's Mail the building had been without power for most of the day.
"There was a problem with the municipal substation," she said.
At 6.15pm the students had been allowed back into the front section of the building.
Electricians were still working on the transformer box, and Botha was frantically trying to ensure they all got supper, using gas cookers.
However the students, many of whom are in the throes of exams, did not have lighting, and had not yet been allowed back into their rooms.
"We don't know what will happen when the power returns," Botha said. "I don't want to take any chances with the students' safety."
However, she emphasised that all the students were safe and the situation was calm.
Welkom said the fire was the result of the building's transformer overheating.
He said although the student were evacuated, they had not been in danger because the transformer was separate from the building.
"Electricians were called in and a fire fighting team was on standby until the extent of the problem was established," Welkom told Grocott's Mail.
sue@grocotts.co.za
