Braamfontein crematorium closed after Joburg gas line fire

Joburg residents have been advised to use the Lenasia Avalon crematorium until further notice after the facility in Braamfontein was affected by the Egoli Gas line fire on Tuesday.

The Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo confirmed the crematorium had been affected by the Egoli gas explosion and cannot operate.

“The entity has moved all the planned cremations for today to Lenasia crematorium. Updates will be shared with the public once the Braamfontein crematorium is up and running as normal,” it said.

At least five people were wounded after employees of Egoli Gas working next to their truck and the building in front of them caught fire in Johannesburg.

Making Joburg safe

Egoli Gas said the fire on one of its gas lines on the corners of Bertha and De Korte streets in Braamfontein was an isolated incident.

“Egoli Gas has been working closely with the Executive Team of the City of Johannesburg since the Bree Street explosion in July 2023 to make the city safe. This involves exposing sections of pipeline and sleeving to ensure the integrity of the network.

“This process of making the city safe is being rolled out in phases; following the explosion in Bree Street in July and possible damage to the Egoli Gas infrastructure due to that incident,” it said.

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Extra measures

Egoli Gas said it will, in conjunction with the City of Johannesburg, put extra measures in place to ensure that an incident like this does not occur again.

“A root cause analysis will be concluded and an agreement has been reached with the executive team of Johannesburg that JMPD and EMS will be informed of future work to assist with the management of traffic and public movement in areas where work is planned.”

The City of Johannesburg said Egoli Gas was doing routine maintenance work when the explosion occurred.

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