Government, police liable for fire damage to 14 farms
10 August
2013 11:40
Government
and the police minister have to pay for the damages caused by a run-away veld
fire which started at a police training facility at Verdrag in Limpopo.
The Saturday
Citizen reported the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday ruled that government
and police had negligently failed to do everything in their power to stop the
spread of the fire, which started at the Thabazimbi Training Institute on the
Verdrag farm.
According to
the newspaper, the fire had spread to 14 neighbouring farms.
Judge Johan
Louw declared they were liable for the damage sustained by the 14 farm owners
and AA Rontgen, who suffered serious burns.
According to
evidence, a small fire started while trainees of the National Intervention Unit
were busy with a shooting exercise on the skirmish range.
They tried to
stop the fire with six small indoor fire extinguishers but it soon started
spreading rapidly. The fire raged out of control for several days before it was
finally extinguished.
- Sapa
