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30 May 2025
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Major fire breaks out at large hyper store in Mossel Bay
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Mossel Bay Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management Services were dispatched to a fire call on Tuesday, 27 May 2025 at approximately 10h28. Wayne Sternsdorf, station commander at Mossel Bay Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management, said, “On arrival, it was found that the Mikeva Wholesale Cash and Carry was well alight with large plumes of black smoke emanating from the building. The fire was already visible from the fire station that is approximately 2km away. The initial dispatch was three major pumpers from the Mossel Bay and Groot Brak Fire Stations, backed up by a rescue vehicle and three water tenders. The senior operations and fire safety officers were also dispatched and also followed by Chief Fire Officer Joseph Johnston.”
“Additional support vehicles were also dispatched to the scene, the SCBA unit and the Incident Command Vehicle. Additional Off duty crews were also called in to assist”, said Sternsdorf.
He added, “The Incident Command System was implemented and the building which was well alight divided into four sectors. The building contained a large volume of consumer goods, to fresh produce, cleaning materials, meat and other household products for the wholesale and domestic use. The business has been in Mossel bay for over 30 years and the building was a well-known land mark. Due to the high shelving and vast amounts of stock and packaging it was consumed by fire at a rapid rate. The initial incident commander was the CFO Johnston and later in the incident was handed over to Station Commander Sternsdorf, supported by Station Commander Van Der Mescht. An Incident Command post was established using the Mossel Bay Fire Service incident command vehicle.”
“Additional responders included Petro SA, who sent a major fire tender and crew, as well as the South African Police Service, Metro Rescue, By Grace Emergency Medical Services, Emerge Emergency Medical Services, Frontier Medix, Municipal Traffic and Law Enforcement and the Emergency Volunteer Chaplaincy Service”, continued Sternsdorf.
“All staff and persons were successfully evacuated with one minor injury reported. The injured female was transported to hospital and later discharged.”
“Donations of Refreshments were received and distributed to Emergency crews by the Volunteer Chaplaincy Service whom made sure that all crews were fed and well hydrated during the operations at the incident.”
“The fire was brought under control by 14h00 on 27 May 2025 and then the immense task of overhaul, damping down and mopping up commenced. The scene was declared safe on Thursday, 29 May 2025 at 15h00 and was handed back to the South African Police Service for further investigation as to determine the cause of the fire, as the area was defined as a crime scene until the South African Police Release the building back to the owners.”
“Challenges that was faced was the imminent collapse of parts of the structure that had been severely damaged by the intense heat from the fire, as well as accessing some of the areas of the building due to security measures. However, with stunning efforts from the fire crews, 40 percent of the building was saved including the saving of the liquor shop side the wholesaler that, if burnt, could have posed other challenges to the crews due to the flammability of the alcoholic beverages.”
“The building owners also appointed an environmental service to contain the run off from the fire from entering the stormwater system and to deal with any relevant waste from the scene.”
“All responding agencies as mentioned above can be commended on a job well done that proves that team work between emergency services is crucial and when done correctly can have very positive results.”
“A full debrief will be scheduled in the next few days to compile a complete action incident report”, concluded Sternsdorf.
Source: Wayne Sternsdorf, station commander, Mossel Bay Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management
“Additional support vehicles were also dispatched to the scene, the SCBA unit and the Incident Command Vehicle. Additional Off duty crews were also called in to assist”, said Sternsdorf.
He added, “The Incident Command System was implemented and the building which was well alight divided into four sectors. The building contained a large volume of consumer goods, to fresh produce, cleaning materials, meat and other household products for the wholesale and domestic use. The business has been in Mossel bay for over 30 years and the building was a well-known land mark. Due to the high shelving and vast amounts of stock and packaging it was consumed by fire at a rapid rate. The initial incident commander was the CFO Johnston and later in the incident was handed over to Station Commander Sternsdorf, supported by Station Commander Van Der Mescht. An Incident Command post was established using the Mossel Bay Fire Service incident command vehicle.”
“Additional responders included Petro SA, who sent a major fire tender and crew, as well as the South African Police Service, Metro Rescue, By Grace Emergency Medical Services, Emerge Emergency Medical Services, Frontier Medix, Municipal Traffic and Law Enforcement and the Emergency Volunteer Chaplaincy Service”, continued Sternsdorf.
“All staff and persons were successfully evacuated with one minor injury reported. The injured female was transported to hospital and later discharged.”
“Donations of Refreshments were received and distributed to Emergency crews by the Volunteer Chaplaincy Service whom made sure that all crews were fed and well hydrated during the operations at the incident.”
“The fire was brought under control by 14h00 on 27 May 2025 and then the immense task of overhaul, damping down and mopping up commenced. The scene was declared safe on Thursday, 29 May 2025 at 15h00 and was handed back to the South African Police Service for further investigation as to determine the cause of the fire, as the area was defined as a crime scene until the South African Police Release the building back to the owners.”
“Challenges that was faced was the imminent collapse of parts of the structure that had been severely damaged by the intense heat from the fire, as well as accessing some of the areas of the building due to security measures. However, with stunning efforts from the fire crews, 40 percent of the building was saved including the saving of the liquor shop side the wholesaler that, if burnt, could have posed other challenges to the crews due to the flammability of the alcoholic beverages.”
“The building owners also appointed an environmental service to contain the run off from the fire from entering the stormwater system and to deal with any relevant waste from the scene.”
“All responding agencies as mentioned above can be commended on a job well done that proves that team work between emergency services is crucial and when done correctly can have very positive results.”
“A full debrief will be scheduled in the next few days to compile a complete action incident report”, concluded Sternsdorf.
Source: Wayne Sternsdorf, station commander, Mossel Bay Fire, Rescue and Disaster Management
