SA's on fire and there's no one to put it out

04 September 2018 - 06:10
By Graeme Hosken
A fire rages at the Serengeti Sands townhouse complex in Sunninghill, Johannesburg on August 23.
Image: Twitter/ER24 A fire rages at the Serengeti Sands townhouse complex in Sunninghill, Johannesburg on August 23.

Sophisticated arsonists and a dire lack of firefighting skills are exacting an increasingly deadly toll on SA – and costing the economy billions.

The latest edition of Fire Protection, an industry magazine, reveals the country’s financial loss from fire amounted to more than R3-billion. In 2007, it was R1.6-billion.

The report shows that while the number of fires has decreased year on year since 2013, the financial losses and deaths are mounting.