Firefighters stop St Francis blaze from spreading

2012-12-25 20:17

(Picture: Sharon Welman, St Francis Chronicle)

Johannesburg - Firefighters on Tuesday managed to stop a blaze from spreading in St Francis Bay after a holiday house caught fire, gutting the premises.

According to the St Francis Chronicle, a fire started around 12:00 at a thatched roof house being rented by a Johannesburg couple and Canadian friends on St Francis Bay's canals.

St Francis Bay firemen and the local disaster management team, including members of the NSRI were on on the scene in minutes , the St Francis Chronicle said.

A fierce wind was blowing and this led to another house diagonally across the road to start burning in a small section on its thatch roof, the report said.

Residents of about 20 other homes were evacuated as a safety measure.

Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading by dousing the roofs of all the neighbouring houses, the report said.

By 13:00 it emergency personnel had brought the fire under control.

The six holidaymakers managed to flee the house, which was gutted by the blaze.

The fire apparently started for no reason on the top floor.

St Francis Bay was filled to brim with holiday-makers who traditionally visit the area for Christmas holidays, according to a report.

Last month, 76 homes were destroyed by a blaze in the same area.

- News24