Three weeks ago, a community on the slopes of Devil’s Peak had a fire drill. Two weeks ago, they went on high alert as the city dried out. On Monday morning, the raging mountain fire, which ignited 24 hours earlier, leapt within 30 metres of their homes but their efforts — together with the city’s firefighters — helped save them.
Nazeem Ebrahim, an elderly member of University Estate, said: “I have lived in this community for more than 55 years. The firefighters and emergency services play an important role, but we are used to looking after ourselves.
“We have about 40 volunteers and four fire stations with our own hoses, and we have been fighting the fire since six this morning,” he said, gesturing at the dripping fire hose and hydrant at his feet. Smoke and ash swirled down into the street.
Hanief Tiseker, who lives at number 17 Beresford Road, five doors down from Ebrahim, said they were doing routine fire drills by the end of March. “We anticipated we would have to protect ourselves as the end of summer drew near. Yesterday we saw the fire and we got all the cousins in place.”
LISTEN | 'We are waiting to find out if it's safe to go home' - Vredehoek resident speaks about evacuation
Even family members who had moved away from the community came to volunteer, said Ebrahim, whose company Oasis owns property in the area and helped fund firefighting equipment.
Shamiel Abass, chairperson of the Woodstock Community Policing Forum, said they prepared in advance “a strategic plan from all angles” to keep the community safe from fire.
Pointing at about 20 smoke-smudged men in orange bibs, sitting on the side of the road, he said they were all volunteers and had helped to protect and evacuate the street.
“We all grew up together,” says Yusuf Ebrahim, in his 40s. “We know all the old people and we planned their evacuation.”
The fire volunteers have been doing shifts wetting down the perimeter, including the fire break which was cleared last week.
“The fire guys told us even an ember hitting dry ground can cause a flare up,” Tiseker said.
Jan van den Heever, from Oasis property department, said they made sure their fire equipment was in working order and their volunteers were well-trained. “You never know when you will need this.”
Varsha Rajkumar has been living in Premier Street, right below the edge of the fire, for two years and joined the efforts to control the blaze by spraying down the open veld in front of her house.
“It was better than nothing but when the firefighters arrived they could do a hundred times more with their hoses,” she said, reliving how the flames leapt over the freeway to within reach of her house.
A firefighting crew member on the scene, who preferred not to be named, said the residents made an important contribution to protecting their houses, given the overstretched resources.
Not only were fire teams fighting the blaze on Table Mountain, they also had to go to Grabouw during the night to put out a fire there.
While watching, they drenched flare ups on the edge of Philip Kgosana Drive with water from their hoses.
Plumes of smoke rose from hotspots and fire lines on the mountain above, but they were fairly confident on Monday afternoon that the fire was contained “for now”.
“We don’t want to say it is under control. It is too soon and the area is vast,” one fireman said.
When they rushed to the scene, sirens blaring, on Monday morning, the flames were higher than their fire engine.
Fire and rescue services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said on Monday afternoon that the fire was “largely contained for now”.
But fierce winds, so strong they made it hard to stand up and bent the palm trees on the freeway, make it hard to predict what would happen with flare ups.
The helicopter and aerial crews who usually play a vital role in dousing flames could not fly because of the winds.
More than 150 firefighters as well as emergency services, disaster risk management teams and metro cops fanned across Cape Town’s high-risk areas on Monday to support evacuation and manage traffic.
The runaway fire burnt down UCT’s Jagger Library with irreplaceable special collections and the historic Mostert Mill as it roared across the mountain slopes on Sunday.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.