Cape Town - Firefighters doused tiny flames which were active on a vacant field above the Upper Campus of UCT yesterday morning.
Firefighters responded swiftly when alerted to the fire just after 11.30pm on Wednesday and they doused the flames within 15 minutes.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said the fire had caused no death or damage to infrastructure.
“The University of Cape Town (UCT) confirms that a small fire was reported above Upper Campus on a vacant field near the top dam late on Wednesday, 5 January 2022, and put out shortly thereafter.
“‘There was no danger to any human life and the fire was very far from any buildings or infrastructure.
“The fire was reported around 11.30pm on January 5 by the patrolling UCT Campus Protection Services (CPS) officers and the standard operating procedure was followed.
“The fire services department was on site within 15 minutes and the fire was declared fully doused by 1.45am on Thursday morning.
“UCT commends the CPS patrol officers and the fire services for acting swiftly. The fire was under control from when it was reported.
“After the fire was completely doused, overnight measures were put in place in the unlikely event of the fire reigniting.
“At this point there is no indication of the cause of the fire. An investigation will follow and a formal report will be drafted and tabled through the relevant internal channels.”
Spokesperson for the City’s Fire and Rescue Jermaine Carelse said they had determined that the fire was pieces of wood which had been burning.
“The emergency call was received at 11.29pm on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 of grass alight on the grounds of UCT near the Sports Centre.
“Fire crews from Salt River, Ottery and Wynberg Fire Stations were on scene.
“The fire officer from Salt River Fire Station confirmed that it was heaps of wood piles.
“The UCT manager was on scene with a firefighting vehicle. The crew from Salt River returned to the scene this morning at approximately 07:35 for an inspection and was informed that a cleaning crew appointed by UCT will make arrangements to remove these wood piles.”
UCT came under the spotlight in April last year after a devastating fire destroyed more than 600 hectares of Table Mountain and parts of the university, which included historical sites such as the Mill and Rhodes Memorial.
An independent report had revealed the fire was started during a malicious act.
SANParks also confirmed that the initial belief that the fire was caused by a homeless person was in fact not true and undetermined, and that it was due to a malicious act.
A R10 000 reward was offered for information.
Weekend Argus