THE blaze at NCT Woodchip Mill in Richards Bay, KZN, is still alive and going strong.
The fire started in one of the company's conveyor belts, which is used to store wood chips on Saturday, 30 September. While firefighters were busy trying to put it out, strong wind started blowing and the fire spread like wildfire. It jumped from one stock pile to another.
The City of uMhlathuze then called for help, after which an aerial firefighting operation started on Monday, 2 October. The operation involved a helicopter which released a chemical to put out the flames. Unfortunately, the intervention didn't completely stop the raging flames.
On Wednesday, 4 October, during a briefing, municipal manager Nkosenye Zulu said the city had believed it had enough firefighter vehicles and their cars had power to deal with any form of fire. But he admitted that this kind of fire had never been experienced in the history of the city, and it was beyond their capacity.
"We need to admit that our attempts to put off the fire by water is not working. Hence we are calling for different methods of putting it off as it seems that the aerial method is also not helping. All our attempts have failed and we believe the new method we will be trying of pouring another chemical will work," said Zulu.
ALSO READ: Kasi self-made clinic needs help!
King Cetshwayo District manager Philane Sibiya said the damage was quite extensive, but they couldn’t estimate the cost without proper investigations.
“Both the district and the city are doing everything they can now to contain the fire between the two stock piles only, so it doesn't to spread to other stockpiles. We don’t know when the fire will be completely extinguished but we believe that with all the help we get from local industries and neighbouring municipalities, we will win this battle,” said Sibiya.
She said the neighbouring company Foskor that dealt with chemicals had started to clear its storage because if the fire could spread to that side, it could be a disaster. She said firefighters were on the ground working 24/7.
"We appeal to people who suffer from diseases such as lung disease to wear masks when they are near the burning site,” said Sibiya.
The NCT company can only give an estimate of the cost of damage once the fire is completely off.
