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Fire in Johannesburg's central business district claims four lives – tragic echo of Usindiso disaster

A fire in an abandoned building in downtown Johannesburg has left four people dead, three injured and three others possibly missing.

The building was investigated by the Khampepe Inquiry last month as it was identified as one of many abandoned or hijacked buildings in the city.

Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi confirmed that they responded to the fire in the three-storey building on the corner of Janie and Jules Streets in the early hours of Sunday, August 25.

“Firefighters have succeeded in extinguishing the fire that broke out in one of the abandoned buildings in Jeppestown in the early hours of this morning. About four people lost their lives and three were injured in this fire. One seriously injured person was taken to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital and the other two to Hillbrow.”

Mulaudzi said it was possible that three people were missing. Police were unsure if they were in the building at the time of the fire and managed to escape or were still trapped inside. He could not confirm the number of people in the building but said there were “many.”

At that time, experts assumed that the cause of the fire was illegal power connections.

Mulaudzi said residents had built dividing walls with metal sheets to create a kind of “slum”.

New Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero confirmed that investigations are ongoing into the cause of the fire and the owner of the building, and a specific company has been identified.

“We must admit that this is a major crisis that requires the commitment of all of us, both government and the private sector. We have involved the provincial and national governments in these matters to find a sustainable solution. One of the biggest challenges is the buildings that are constantly being hijacked by criminal syndicates, which also forces us to involve law enforcement and investigations are ongoing. But I must say we need a drastic solution.”

The premises were handed over to the police for further investigation.

The latest fire occurred against the backdrop of an expected plan by the City of Johannesburg to dispose of abandoned or “hijacked” buildings following the Usindiso fire.

Read more: The City of Johannesburg only pays lip service to taking action against “hijacked” buildings

The The second phase of the Khampepe investigation has stalled; the Commission attributes this to logistical problems.

Daily Maverick believes that the second part of the investigation cannot proceed until the city responds to the first part, which will be at the end of April 2024Almost four months later, the city has still not responded. DM

Read more: City of Johannesburg remains silent after investigation finds it responsible for Usindiso fire

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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