Durban firefighters have a strong suspicion that arson is to blame for the weekend blaze that ripped through parts of the Denny mushroom plant in Shongweni.
"Our key aim was to stave off the spread of fire and save the major part of the warehouse which I think we did successfully. The fire spread to 40% of the warehouse and the balance of that we were able to save, of course, you will have subsequent damage due to smoke." [LISTEN: Litterboom Project wants to step in and help save our waters](https://www.ecr.co.za/shows/east-coast-breakfast/listen-litterboom-project-wants-to-step-in-and-help-save-our-waters--josh-redman-/) He says the blaze also spread to the company's warehouse. Govender says it took a team of 20 men and women hours to bring the flames under control on Friday. Durban fire fighters have a strong suspicion that arson is to blame for the weekend blaze that ripped through parts of the Denny mushroom plant in Shongweni.
The massive fire at the Denny Mushrooms plant in Shongweni in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday was the second suspected case of arson in two weeks.
Arson was suspected and I am sure a case of arson was opened,” he said. We put it out. The massive fire at the Denny Mushrooms plant in Shongweni in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday was the second suspected case of arson in two weeks.
Buildings at a Denny Mushrooms farm in Shongweni near Durban were hit by a raging fire on Friday, with police confirming that they are investigated arson.
Video from the incident shows thick plumes of smoke from a fast-moving fire. "Upon investigating he noticed that the fire was coming from the store room, growing room, packaging and dispatch department." Denny says it will redirect mushroom supplies from its Gauteng facility to meet demand following the damage to its production due to the fire. JSE-listed Libstar, which owns Denny, confirmed that it was working with the authorities to assess the damage and investigate the cause of the fire. Ngcobo says that while circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated, a case of malicious damage to property was opened at the Marianhill police station for investigation. The Shongweni farm is one of three production facilities owned by Denny, which is South Africa’s biggest mushroom supplier.
Rumours on social media allege disgruntled workers set the plant on fire after Denny offered a 7% wage increase as opposed to their 8% demand.
With suspicion falling on a few disgruntled workers who rejected 7% annual pay increase.
“I sincerely hope that the responsible people are found and brought to justice swiftly. Considering these factors, the Group has applied a conservative downward revision of Denny Mushrooms’ five-year growth forecasts.” The Shongweni plant was most severely affected, but managed to claw its way back to historic production levels by September 2021. “We are currently working with the authorities to investigate the cause of the fire as well as assess the damage. We are unable to comment further at this stage as to the cause, extent or estimated cost of the damage. “Only five people did not agree to the wage increase.