Six mobile classrooms were set alight and the seventh one vandalised in the absence of scholars in Thabotona primary school Tsietsi section in Katlehong, City of Ekurhuleni. Disaster and Emergency Management Services firefighters from Zonkizizwe fire station received the alarm at 11H25 Monday morning asking for their intervention for well alight portable classrooms. According to the information on scene, members of the school governing body and the parents are demanding brick and mortar structures to be erected unlike mobile classrooms that are currently being used by learners.
On arrival of firefighters, six classrooms were already engulfed and destroyed by flames, some of school furniture, tables and chairs were found burning outside the classrooms as well.Preventative fire suppression was initiated stopping the flames from spreading to the entire classrooms and administration block. The arrival of more firefighting resources from Hlahatsi and Wadeville fire stations respectively, proved to be handy in minimizing the damage. Considering the classrooms congestion, the damage was reduced drastically. Water had to be shuttled to the areas with fire water tankers from the fire station in Zonkizizwe. No casualties were recorded on scene from both firefighters and some of the school staff members present at the time of the fire.An inquest docket has been opened by the South African Police Services (SAPS) on scene.
