Shop owners and bystanders help extinguish fire in Germiston CBD
Minimal structural damage caused by early-morning fire in the CBD.
Bystanders and commuters heading to work, early last Tuesday morning, helped shop owners extinguish a fire that had broken out at a building on the corner of Spilsbury and President streets.
Vincent Lepuru, a security officer who works at a nearby company and who was one of the first people on the scene, told the GCN that he made a call to the emergency services at 5.47am and they only arrived at 6.20am.
Speaking to the GCN, William Ntladi, district manager media liaison for Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS), confirmed that they serviced a call about the incident in the CBD.
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“The call was received around 6.05am, after members of the public came personally to the Germiston Fire Station to report the incident,” he said.
“Firefighters swiftly responded to the scene and found what seemed to be a herbal shop on the ground level, with residential apartments above it, on fire.
“Upon arrival, shop owners were busy using the bucket brigade system as they tried to contain the blaze before the professional firefighters took over.”
According to Lepuru, the firefighters struggled to extinguish the fire promptly and received help from a second group of DEMS personnel.
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“A fire engine from Boksburg Fire Station arrived on the scene to back up the Germiston Fire Station crews.
“The fire was contained and extinguished without further damage to the structure and its contents,” said Ntladi.
No injuries were recorded on scene due to the fire.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined and is under investigation by DEMS fire safety officers.
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