Fire destroys hundreds of SANDF vehicles in Pretoria

Hundreds of military vehicles were destroyed in a fire in Pretoria on Thursday night.

The fire, at the army's vehicle depot in Wallmansthal, which started around 19:00, was only extinguished in the early hours of Friday morning.

SANDF spokesperson Mafi Mgobozi said the cause of fire is being investigated.

“We don’t know how the fire started, but it was coming outside our base. No injuries were reported, and no building caught fire.”

Mgobozi said the cost of damage is yet to be determined.

“Most of the vehicles which caught fire we don’t use, they were beyond repair, our people are still working to find out how many vehicles burnt the cost will come out from then.”

The Sinoville Fire Fighting Association was first on the scene and managed extinguish the fire with the help of nearby fire fighters from Hammanskraal and Wonderboom.

Chairman JP Botha said the vehicles were parked next to each other.

"Between 500 and a thousand vehicles, which in addition to tankers and Nyalas include forklifts, trailers and trucks, burned out. The fire started outside of the base, there is an informal settlement there and spread inside where the vehicles were parked.”

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