Ekurhuleni emergency services spokesperson William Ntladi informed the GCN that a residential building on Joubert Street, in Germiston, caught fire on Tuesday (August 6).<\/p>\n
Emergency services immediately rushed to the scene of the fire after it was reported, at around 11am.<\/p>
The building had 17 rooms that were occupied by residents.<\/p>\n
“Two of the rooms accommodated families, two others were used for business purposes and the rest of the rooms were occupied by individuals,” explained Ntladi.<\/p>
It is believed that one room, which belonged to a resident who sold traditional muti, is where the fire might initially have started in the building.<\/p>\n
“The entire room was completely burned, as well as the other room, which was used for business purposes” added Ntladi.<\/p>\n
“Seven children from surrounding buildings were hospitalised after inhaling smoke.”<\/p>\n
The children were taken to the Bertha Gxowa Hospital, in Germiston.<\/p>\n
“There were no fatalities,” added Ntladi.<\/p>\n
“The owner of the building could not be contacted, however the monitor of the building was present.<\/p>\n
“It is one of those old buildings in the CBD.<\/p>\n
“We suspect that there was some illegal dwelling that might have taken place inside the building as well.”<\/p>\n
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.<\/p>\n