Fire at Waterkloof Air Force Base ‘caused no structural damage’, says SANDF
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has confirmed that the fire at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria was contained within an hour after it started on Sunday night.
The fire broke out at the Bulk Fuel Depot around 7 pm.
According to the City of Tshwane emergency services, a 24 000-litre fuel tank on the base caught fire.
SANDF spokesperson Andries Mahapa says the air force firefighting team contained the fire within an hour.
The main cause of the fire will now be the focus of an investigation.
“The cause of the fire, the magnitude of the damage and the cost of the damage to the Bulk Fuel Depot will form part of an investigation that will interrogate all events and or incidents that might have led to the fire breakout at the Base. No structural damage was reported,” says Mahapa.
Mahapa says the teams from both Air Force Base Waterkloof and Air Force Base Swartkops in Valhalla Pretoria, attended to the blaze.
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Roland Hendricks says the airforce base didn’t require assistance from the City’s emergency.
“The fire was of such a nature that they did not deem it necessary to contact the City for assistance. However, we responded to our resources from the nearest station Centurion, per our predetermined attendance requirements in order to assist the Airforce, in the event the situation escalated. Upon arrival it was confirmed that City resources were not required to assist with extinguishing the fire as the fire is already extinguished,” says Hendricks.
He says the city emergency will remain on the scene to ensure that the scene is entirely safe.
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