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An accident between two minibus taxis in Soweto, Johannesburg left 40 people injured on Friday evening, Gauteng paramedics said.

“The two fully laden taxis collided head on and then bust into flames, passages clambered out of the vehicle, some with the aid of fellow commuters and bystanders,” said Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha.

“The interior of both taxis were totally gutted by the flames.”

Forty people from both of the taxis have been injured, 6 of them seriously in the Doxenville road accident. One of the injured suffered burns on 50% of his body.

Police were working to re-direct traffic but their work was hindered by rain.

taken from News24

Wildfires roaring across a swath of Western Australia razing almost 40 homes and sending hundreds of people fleeing for their lives

Sydney – Residents in Western Australia fled a raging wildfire on Wednesday that incinerated nearly 40 homes in the country’s worst blaze since “Black Saturday” fires killed 173 in February.

Hundreds of firefighters battled the inferno outside the wheat-farming town of Toodyay, 80km from the Western Australian capital Perth, apparently sparked when power lines collapsed amid searing heat and high winds.

Local resident Beverley Phillips, who fled by car with just her pet poodle and cat, described driving through thick smoke to reach safety.

“I jumped in the car and drove as fast as I could, but it was dangerous. I felt I could have gone into a culvert or a tree at any time,” Australian news agency AAP quoted her as saying.

“It’s all I have – the car, the dog and the cat,” said the 58-year-old, standing by her car, struggling to take in her loss. “All those photos of my daughter when she was a baby, of my mother… the beautiful garden.”

State Premier Colin Barnett designated the blaze a natural disaster, enabling the release of emergency funds, as he visited the area.

“This is a devastating fire with great destruction,” he told reporters, adding that the needy would receive a A$3 000 hand-out.

“I want to express my sympathy to those who have lost their homes, over 30 houses destroyed by a very severe, very intense bushfire in the surrounding area of Toodyay.”

Some 37 homes along with sheds, outhouses and livestock were engulfed by the fire, which swept through more than 3 000 hectares of land in the sparsely populated farming community.
(continue reading…)

About 260 people were left homeless after two shack fires overnight on Friday in Khayelitsha and Woodstock, the Cape Town Disaster Management Centre said.

Centre spokesperson Wilfred Solomons Johannes said that the first fire happened in Site B, Khayelitsha, just after 13:00 on Thursday when 40 shacks were burned down.

One hundred and sixty people were left homeless. They were not injured.

During the night in Railway Road, Woodstock, 39 shacks burned down.

Some 100 people were affected. None were injured.

Solomons Johannes said the cause of the fires were not yet known.

However disaster management officials were on site and providing food, and blankets, as well as clearing the site. Building materials would also be provided to the affected people for them to rebuild their homes.

taken from News24

About 310 people have fled their homes after a huge blaze at a building site spread to two blocks of flats in south east London.

More than 125 firefighters battled the inferno in Peckham, which was first reported at about 4.30am.

Eyewitness Beatrice Ghartey told Sky News: “Cars were blowing up. It was just really scary.

“The blaze was moving towards us. I called the fire brigade and I could not even talk. I was literally screaming, ‘Fire.’”

Pictures of the blaze showed flames bursting from the top floors of a four-storey building.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said the building site near Carisbrooke Gardens first caught light, with gas cylinders possibly involved.

The blaze then spread to nearby blocks of flats and other properties in Sumner Road and Rosemary Road.

Brigade assistant commissioner Steve Turek said: “The ferocity of the fire was a challenge when we first arrived because all the buildings were simultaneously burning.”

Despite the early morning panic, only four people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Two of victims, including a police officer, were suffering from smoke inhalation.

Dozens of people, including mothers with babies, had sheltered in the street as fire crews battled the flames.

The evacuated people were being moved to emergency accommodation provided by the local authority.

MP Harriet Harman said the local community was in a “state of shock” but praised the courage of the emergency services.

She said: “They have been incredibly brave to go into these buildings, you can see they are incredibly unsafe and it is still so hot.

“The heat of the blaze must have been unimaginable. It’s really a miracle that nobody lost their life.”

The blaze comes nearly five months after six people died when a fire ripped through a block of flats in nearby Camberwell.

The tragedy at Lakanal House on July 3 led to concerns about the design of the building.

taken from SkyNews

Johannesburg – A former mayor of Bela-Bela (Warmbaths) poured petrol over himself and set himself alight in his car outside the offices of the local newspaper on Monday.

Younus Lorgat, 47, was still in a critical condition in Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg late on Monday evening.

Lorgat was mayor of the town until 2007, when he was appointed speaker of the Waterberg district municipality.

At about 09:00 on Monday morning, he parked his Toyota Avensis in a parking area at the back of the offices of Die Pos (The Post).

Police spokesperson Captain Johnny Thiyo said Lorgat poured petrol over himself and then lit a match.

Staff members heard a bang and then saw “clouds of smoke in the sky”. They ran out of the building and used fire extinguishers to put out the flames in the car. They also called the emergency services.

Trompie Jonker, owner of Tromar private emergency services, said Lorgat had sustained first, second and third degree burn wounds.

“More than 65% of his body was burnt. I have known him for a long time but yesterday (Monday) I didn’t even recognise him.”

He said Lorgat’s face, arms, upper body and legs were badly burnt. “He was mumbling… it sounded like he was praying,” said Jonker.

Lorgat was sent to St Vincent Private Hospital in Bela-Bela, where paramedics and doctors struggled for two hours to stabilise him. Some of his family members were treated in the same hospital for shock.

Tromar then took him by ambulance to the hospital in Johannesburg.

Thiyo said police were investigating the incident.

“It is not at all clear what caused him to set fire to himself,” he said.

taken from News24

The question would be: why would you do something like this in front of the local newspaper ofices?

Forensic experts have been unable to find out what sparked a fire at the old post office building in the Johannesburg city centre.

Officials from emergency services conducted a preliminary report on the blaze which started on Sunday.

The case has been handed over to the police for further investigation.

Firefighters were kept on their toes for most of the day.

After battling Sunday night’s blaze until early Monday morning, they returned to the scene as thick clouds of smoke started emanating from the building’s roof.

They held damping down operations to ensure the fire does not flare up again.

“Fire safety officers could not determine the cause of the fire hence it is going to be handed over to the police,” said emergency service’s Nana Radebe.

Officials say it may be a while before the investigation is complete.

taken from EWN

An oil rig has burst into flames off the coast of Australia sparking fears it will cause devastating environmental damage.

The West Atlas platform burst into flames on Sunday while a fifth attempt was being made to plug a leak using heavy mud.

The Australian government has launched an inquiry into how the rig caught fire, ten weeks after it started leaking oil into the Timor Sea.

No-one was injured, and all workers have been evacuated, but huge flames are shooting into the air.

Officials from PTT Exploration and Production say they cannot extinguish it while it’s been fed by leaking gas.

The oil leak began on August 21, with up to 400 barrels of oil a day spewing into the sea, 150 miles from the northwest Australian coast.

Aerial view of the fire which started weeks after the rig started spewing oil

Only the fact that it is so far offshore has prevented pollution showing up on beaches, but environmental experts say it’s having a devastating impact on marine and wildlife.

“There are many unanswered questions, including how the fire started,” said PTTEP Chief Financial Officer Jose Martins.

Paul Gamblin, from the pressure group WWF, said: “The fire itself could cause considerable environmental damage.

“Ultimately the rig itself could collapse into the ocean.”

Australia’s Resources Minister Martin Ferguson announced a full and independent inquiry into the cause of the incident. He said the government is “deeply concerned”.

Opposition spokesman Greg Hunt said a national emergency taskforce should be established.

“We’ve had ten weeks of drift and complacency. Now we have a genuine national environmental emergency,” he said.

taken from SkyNews

Sydney – Concerned residents abandoned their homes and fled as wildfires closed in on hundreds of suburban properties in Australia’s northeast, officials said, adding there was likely worse to come.

There were no forced evacuations, but officials urged anyone not prepared to protect their property to flee as flames of up to four metres closed in on Rockhampton city, north of Brisbane.

Erratic winds fanned the blaze from the Mount Archer National Park, where it has been burning for 11 days, officials said.

Aerial water bombing and work by crews on the ground prevented the flames from reaching property, but the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service warned the threat had not yet passed as winds remained high.

“Crews protected approximately 100 houses in the area this morning with minimal loss reported,” the service said. “Residents in these areas are urged to remain vigilant in case conditions change.”

Attorney-General Robert McClelland said the blazes were a sobering reminder of the coming southern hemisphere summer, which authorities fear could pose a devastating fire threat.

“Above average temperatures are contributing to an early fire season this year, and there is above normal fire potential across much of southern Australia,” McClelland said.

Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the government stood ready to provide full financial and emergency support.

“The commonwealth … will continue to work closely with Queensland authorities, local government and community organisations to ensure affected communities have all the support they need during this difficult period,” she told parliament.

Firefighters responded to almost 50 blazes across Queensland state on Tuesday, where fires have been burning now for more than three weeks, destroying one home.

A near-total ban on lighting fires has been extended there until next Monday, and an arson investigation is underway in Rockhampton.

In February, bushfires killed 173 people in the southeastern state of Victoria, eradicating entire towns and destroying thousands of homes in a firestorm known as Black Saturday.

Fearing even worse conditions this southern hemisphere summer, authorities this month announced a new “Code Red” warning for catastrophic wildfires which would require residents to abandon their homes.

A parching El Nino weather system was highly likely to intensify over southeastern Australia in coming months, bringing extensive drought and ideal wildfire conditions, officials have warned.

Victoria and its neighbouring states are in the grip of a decade-long drought, and experienced a run of record-breaking temperatures in the weeks before the fires, leaving uncleared bushland tinder-dry.

story from News24

Police are treating as suspicious the deaths of a man and a woman in a burning house.

The pair, in their 50s, suffered injuries “inconsistent with fire-related injuries”, said Greater Manchester Police.

Officers were called to the house on Darley Avenue, Farnworth, Bolton, following reports of a fire shortly after 5.15pm on Friday.

A man was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital, where he died. A woman had died at the scene.

A joint investigation has been launched by the Fire Service and Greater Manchester Police.

Police said: “The deaths are being treated as suspicious at this stage and a team of detectives are currently working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Police are appealing for information from anyone who might have information about the incident, or the occupants of the house.

Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Shenton said: “A more detailed examination to establish the cause of the injuries will take place over the weekend.

“We are also continuing to seek the extended families of those who we believe to be the occupants of the house.”

story from SkyNews

Los Angeles – Cool weather allowed firefighters to make progress against a deadly wildfire raging in Los Angeles on Tuesday but officials warned they were a long way from declaring victory.

After days of sweltering temperatures and single-digit humidity, Mother Nature came to the aid of firefighters tackling the blaze which has claimed two lives, gutted 63 homes and ripped through 51 400 hectares.

A rise in humidity and a drop in temperatures saw firefighters increase containment lines from five percent to 22%, and for the first time evacuation orders in several hillside neighbourhoods were lifted.

Incident commander Mike Dietrich told reporters at a 17:00 (0000 GMT) briefing that “if this was a boxing match, the scores would be even”.

“The weather has helped us certainly,” Dietrich said. “I don’t believe we have totally turned a corner at this point in time.

“The fire has laid down but there are still a lot of hotspots out there and if the temperatures go up and humidity comes back down it could be a very angry fire again. We’re going to stay with this fire until it’s out.

“But I feel a lot better today than I have done in the past three or four days, just based on the percentage of containment that we have today.”

An estimated 10 000 people have been evacuated since the fire erupted last Wednesday and flames continued to besiege a critical telecommunications facility as well as a historic hilltop observatory.

More than 3 600 firefighters are battling the fire in the Angeles National Forest.

The inferno threatened communications antennas for numerous television and radio stations, cellphone providers and law enforcement agencies on Mount Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains. (continue reading…)

Los Angeles – Two firefighters were killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountain side amid the intense flames of a wildfire that threatened 12 000 homes.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged those in the fire’s path to get out as the blazes rained ash on cars as far away as downtown Los Angeles, spreading in all directions in dry conditions.

Firefighters fixed their attention on Sunday on the blaze’s fast-moving eastern side where flames lapped at the foot of the vital communications and astronomy centre of Mount Wilson, and on the northwestern front, where the two firefighters were killed on Mount Gleason near the city of Acton.

“We ask for your understanding, for your patience as we move through this difficult time, and please, prayers for the families of our two brothers that we lost,” Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant said through tears at a Sunday night news conference.

Bryant said the men’s families have been notified. He did not release their identities or give a cause for the crash, and officials at the press conference would take no questions on the deaths.

Television helicopter video on Sunday night showed an upside-down vehicle on the mountain side.

The blaze was only about 5 percent contained and had scorched 171 square kilometres in the Angeles National Forest. Mandatory evacuations were in effect for neighbourhoods in Glendale, Pasadena and other cities and towns north of Los Angeles. Officials said air quality in parts of the foothills bordered on hazardous.

The fire, which broke out on Wednesday afternoon, was the largest of many burning around California, including a new blaze in Placer County northeast of Sacramento that destroyed several homes and businesses.

The Southern California fire was expected to reach the top of Mount Wilson on Sunday night, where 22 television stations, many radio stations and cellphone providers have their transmitters, said US Forest Service Captain Mike Dietrich.

Television stations said if the antennas burn broadcast signals will be affected but satellite and cable transmissions will not be.
Two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs are housed in the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. The complex of buildings is both a historic landmark and a thriving modern center for astronomy.

At least 18 homes were destroyed in the fire and firefighters expected to find many more, authorities said.

While thousands have fled, two people who tried to ride out the firestorm in a backyard hot tub were burnt. The pair in Big Tujunga Canyon, on the southwestern edge of the fire, “completely underestimated the fire” and the hot tub provided “no protection whatsoever,” Sheriff’s spokesperson Steve Whitmore said on Sunday.

The pair made their way to firefighters and were airlifted out by a sheriff’s rescue helicopter. They had received adequate notification to evacuate from deputies but decided to stay, Whitmore said.

Whitmore described their condition as “critical” but fire officials said one of the two was treated and released and the other remained hospitalised in stable condition.

A third person was burnt on Saturday in an evacuation area along Highway 2 near Mount Wilson, officials said. Details of that injury were not immediately known.”There were people that did not listen, and there were three people that got burnt and got critically injured because they did not listen,” Schwarzenegger said at a news conference at the fire command post.

Mandatory evacuations were in effect for neighbourhoods in Altadena and for the communities of Acton, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta and Big Tujunga Canyon.

Williams reported from Auburn, California. Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

taken from News24