Firefighters threatened during blaze
Police officers were called to escort and protect the firefighters.
Firefighters who tried to extinguish a fire at a settlement in Jeppestown were met by fuming residents in the early hours of Sunday morning.
This was the second fire firefighters were attending to, one in which three people had burnt to death.
Ms Nana Radebe, from Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services (EMS), said a fire broke out at the George Goch Informal Settlement at about 1pm.
“Firefighters were responding to this fire at the George Goch Informal Settlement. Then a fire broke out close by in Jeppestown. “Firefighters ran out of water and they had to get back-up from Sandton. When they arrived at the fire in Jeppestown, the residents threw stones at them because they took long,” she said.
Police officers were called to escort and protect the firefighters.
Ms Radebe said between 80 to 90 shacks were burnt at the George Goch Informal Settlement and between 40 t0 50 shacks were burnt in Jeppestown.
“Disaster management teams are trying to get food and other items from non-governmental organisations,” she said.
The Gorge Goch informal settlement are our neighbors, we were trying to help control the fire with our fire hoses and hose pipes we have and we were being stoned. My parents had to go to hospital for stitches after being struck in the head.