Stanford Spar burnt down in fire
The Stanford Spar in Queen Victoria Street, Stanford, was burnt down completely in the early hours of Monday, 20 May 2019.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
According to Overstrand Fire Chief, Lester Smith, the Overstrand Fire Department responded to a call received at approximately 04:00 of a fire occurring at the Stanford Spar. The on-duty member, as well as the Senior Standby Officer, were immediately informed and dispatched to the area concerned. Due to the nature of the call, Gansbaai and Hermanus Fire Stations were activated and deployed to the scene.
The first arriving vehicle, a light-duty vehicle, arrived on scene at approximately 04:14 and found the Stanford Spar well-alight. Due to the limited equipment on the vehicle, the on-duty member requested major pumpers and water tankers from Hermanus and Gansbaai.
As the fire continued to burn, the roof of Spar collapsed and the members offered structural protection to the surrounding houses.
By the time that the Senior Standby Officer arrived, the Stanford Spar had burned down completely. The delay in arrival is due to the response from Hermanus and the road works which are currently taking place on the R43 between Hermanus and Stanford.
By 05:29 the fire had been contained by on-scene crew members, one major pumper and one water tanker. During active firefighting, one of the learner firefighters was injured and taken to hospital by EMR.
At 09:31 crew members were still on scene busy conducting overhauling operations.