UPDATE: Faulty office plug causes fire at offices of the Gauteng Premier David Makhura
JOBURG – The fire that swept through the 7th floor of the office of the Gauteng Premier was triggered by a faulty office plug and has been contained.
The building occupied by the offices of the Gauteng Premier David Makhura on Simmonds Street in the Johannesburg CBD was the scene of a fire that ravaged through the 7th floor of the 16-storey building this morning (30 June).
The fire is thought to have been triggered by a faulty office plug on the 7th floor. Speaking to City Buzz at the scene of the incident, Makhura confirmed the faulty office plug as the source of the fire that spread quickly through the office, resulting in hundreds of staff members being evacuated from the premises. Johannesburg Emergency Medical Services are still on the scene.
Read: WATCH: Gauteng Premier, David Makhura office on fire
“The fire started at 8.40am this morning and was contained on the 7th floor. Within eight minutes we had evacuated all our staff – there are 280 staff members that work in the building,” said Makhura. “Within 15 minutes, the emergency services, the unified command of the province and the City were all here together with the police and the fire was put [out] within an hour.” Makhura could not comment on the extent of the damage caused by the fire but said no injuries were sustained.
He also indicated that no collateral damage would be sustained since the relevant recovery measures had been taken. “Everything that is burned is backed-up off site…all documentation is backed-up as an important disaster recovery [measure].
“We conduct occupational health and safety assessments all the time. Especially after the Grenfell Tower fire in London, I was saying we must be on top of our game. If anything happens with any of our buildings, lives must be saved in the shortest space of time and emergency services must be on site in the shortest time possible.”
