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17 January 2025
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City of Tshwane firefighters respond to fire at the Phelindaba Brewery in Pretoria West; firefighter injured
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The City of Tshwane's Emergency Services Department responded to a building fire that broke out at the Phelindaba Brewery near Atteridgeville, in Pretoria West, on the afternoon of Saturday, 04 January 2025. Lindsay Mnguni, acting public information and media liaison officer, City of Tshwane Emergency Services, said, “The fire was reported to the Emergency Communication Centre (ECC) at about 17H03. The ECC immediately dispatched firefighting resources from Central Fire Station, Philip Nel Park Fire Station, Atteridgeville Fire Station, Rosslyn Fire Station, Silverton Fire Station and Wonderboom Fire Station to the scene.”
“These included two fire engines, a ladder, two water tankers, a mobile command unit, a district commander’s unit and a video unit. While the firefighters were still en route and responding to the scene, they could see a large plume of black smoke resulting from the building fire. On arrival, the firefighters found out that the decanting area of the brewery was well alight and the fire had also spread to the canteen building. Firefighters immediately established incident command and began with firefighting operations. These involved aggressive firefighting and protecting the other nearby exposed buildings. They managed to swiftly extinguish the fire and save a large portion of the building in the canteen at about 18h22, where only about a quarter of the building was affected. They brought the fire at the decanting area under control at about 18h49 and continued with cooling down operations as the main structure and the roof had collapsed, creating major voids from the iron sheets”, added Mnguni.
“Several more firefighting resources from Hatfield Fire Station, Heuweloord Fire Station and Innesdale Fire Station were dispatched by the ECC as backup due to the complexity of the incident. There were some hazardous materials such as liquid sodium hydroxide UN1824 (caustic soda) in 20 litre plastic cans that were affected by the fire, causing a minor chemical spillage. The additional resources included a foam tender, two fire engines and a hazardous materials unit. The firefighters’ response and their on-site operations helped contain the fire to the affected decanting area, thus preventing it from spreading to the other nearby chemicals such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and lactic acid within the processing plant,” he said.
“The Tshwane Metro Police Department, Gauteng Province Emergency Medical Services, the South African Police Service and other role-players were on the scene and assisted with incident management. One firefighter sustained serious injuries to his leg when he slipped during firefighting operations. He was immediately treated on the scene and transported to a private hospital”, reported Mnguni.
The fire was completely extinguished on the morning of Sunday, 5 January 2025, at about 04H22. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Source: Lindsay Zwelithini Mnguni, acting public information and media liaison officer, City of Tshwane Emergency Services
“These included two fire engines, a ladder, two water tankers, a mobile command unit, a district commander’s unit and a video unit. While the firefighters were still en route and responding to the scene, they could see a large plume of black smoke resulting from the building fire. On arrival, the firefighters found out that the decanting area of the brewery was well alight and the fire had also spread to the canteen building. Firefighters immediately established incident command and began with firefighting operations. These involved aggressive firefighting and protecting the other nearby exposed buildings. They managed to swiftly extinguish the fire and save a large portion of the building in the canteen at about 18h22, where only about a quarter of the building was affected. They brought the fire at the decanting area under control at about 18h49 and continued with cooling down operations as the main structure and the roof had collapsed, creating major voids from the iron sheets”, added Mnguni.
“Several more firefighting resources from Hatfield Fire Station, Heuweloord Fire Station and Innesdale Fire Station were dispatched by the ECC as backup due to the complexity of the incident. There were some hazardous materials such as liquid sodium hydroxide UN1824 (caustic soda) in 20 litre plastic cans that were affected by the fire, causing a minor chemical spillage. The additional resources included a foam tender, two fire engines and a hazardous materials unit. The firefighters’ response and their on-site operations helped contain the fire to the affected decanting area, thus preventing it from spreading to the other nearby chemicals such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and lactic acid within the processing plant,” he said.
“The Tshwane Metro Police Department, Gauteng Province Emergency Medical Services, the South African Police Service and other role-players were on the scene and assisted with incident management. One firefighter sustained serious injuries to his leg when he slipped during firefighting operations. He was immediately treated on the scene and transported to a private hospital”, reported Mnguni.
The fire was completely extinguished on the morning of Sunday, 5 January 2025, at about 04H22. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Source: Lindsay Zwelithini Mnguni, acting public information and media liaison officer, City of Tshwane Emergency Services
