A historic home near Paarl was narrowly saved as wildfires continued to stretch firefighting resources across the Cape Winelands, with crews battling multiple blazes amid extreme conditions. A historic family home in the Otterkuil and Kuilenberg area outside Paarl was narrowly saved from an advancing wildfire on Monday night, as firefighters and residents battled intense conditions during an unrelenting wildfire season across the Cape Winelands. The fire threatened the property shortly before 10pm, at a time when firefighting resources were already under pressure due to major deployments linked to ongoing blazes in Franschhoek.
A call was received by DFW Fire & Rescue NPC, warning that flames and embers were bearing down on the home. DFW responded by dispatching two tanker-pumper trucks, two cruisers and a Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) unit. On arrival, crews encountered strong winds, heavy smoke and an active fire front pushing through vegetation towards the buildings.
According to firefighters on scene, residents, neighbours and local farmers had already begun attempting to contain the fire using portable pumps and farm equipment, including ploughing firebreaks. Fire crews focused on protecting the historic structure, which dates back to the 1800s and was under sustained ember attack. The CAFS unit was used to repeatedly coat the roof and surrounding areas with foam to prevent ignition.
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Firefighters worked through the night and the fire line was held just short of the buildings. Crews stood down at about 2.15am, handing over to the remaining Paarl Fire Officer. No injuries were reported.
The successful defence contrasts with damage reported elsewhere near Paarl over the weekend, when a runaway veld fire destroyed part of the historic Roggeland farmstead in the Dal Josaphat Valley. That fire began as a fast-moving grass fire along Bodal Road before spreading onto Roggeland, one of the area’s oldest farmsteads.
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