By Sonica Naudé-Steyn

A fire started at the Khotso centre on Thursday evening around 18h45 but was soon brought under control following the quick reaction of the Kokstad Fire Department.
It is unclear what started the fire in one of the ground floor stores of the building however with the cooperation of local security companies, community members and the fire department, the damage was minimised and the fire did not spread to surrounding stores.
According to building manager, Charmaine Wessels, the fire was brought under control within 26 minutes after the initial call was made to the fire department.
“Thank you to Shaun Grant and staff from Prestige Security, Bart Snr and Jnr Heyneke and staff from Networx Security, Buffalo Security, MC4, Garion van Staden, Jacques Kemp, Brett Hess, Ling and his staff and the Kokstad Fire Department, for your swift reaction to the fire that broke out at Khotso Centre. Within 26 minutes from the first call, the fire was under control. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. The Wessels family, Khotso Centre.”