Fire! Fire!

26 June:  So there I am, sitting around, at 10 in the morning, and happen to look out of the window.  This is what I see:

Coming from Cape Town, I'm a little bit sensitive about fires, as Table Mountain is particularly vulnerable.  I like to think I am a responsible citizen, so I phoned the golf course, and asked if they know about the fire.  No, they said, they don't have any controlled burns at the moment.

So I phone the Fire Department.

"Hello"
"Hi there, I live off Delville Road, and the golf course is on fire.  If the fire continues to spread at this rate, it will reach the houses in about 15 minutes"
"Where did you say you were calling from?"
"Just off Delville Road.  The golf course is on fire."
"You mean the grass is on fire."
"Yes, that's what I said"
"You phoned us for a grass fire?"
"Yes"
"OK"
*click*
 
I phoned Bob to tell him we might be homeless tonight, but reached his voicemail - he was in a meeting.  He phoned me back about an hour later, after having listened to my message and speaking to a colleague who is a golfer.  Apparently the golfers regularly set the long grass alight, as it's a real pain to look for your balls in that long grass.

(To the credit of the Fire Department,  they did send someone in a white bakkie to have a look)

But wait, there's more!

On Friday (1 August), I look out of the window (again), and see the homeless man in this picture has started a fire.  Outside the golf course.  Over the road from our house.  In the picture, he is moving his wêreldse goed away from the fire because it's getting a bit hot for him.

 Now, I'm becoming a regular Mthatian, and don't panic about such silly stuff any more.  So I phone Bob at work and tell him there's a fire, but there's nothing to worry about.  He says thank you, it's very sweet that I phone him.

I've heard that the sound of a grass fire is quite frightening.  Now I know why.  It's quite ominous in its regularity and intensity

While I'm watching this fire grow and spread, I see the man from next door (not this one, the other side), sending the homeless man on his way.

My isiXhosa is very basic, but my father taught me some very colourful phrases when I was 10 years old.  This is the first time I have heard them spoken out loud.  I had to smile and thank my dad for his foresight.

I asked the man next door if the fire was safe, and he said, yes, it's okay, he'll keep an eye on it (as I had to go to a rehearsal at the school).  I got home two hours later, and the fire had spread about 500m, into Delville Road, which is home to quite a few guest houses.  Yesterday, I spoke to an owner of one of the guest houses, and she told me that her staff were standing outside the property with fire extinguishers on Friday.  She was pretty cross about the fire - they happen quite regularly, and are not always as innocuous as they seem.

I have to admit this made me feel a bit better about phoning the fire brigade last time.