Just a month after a fire killed nearly 80 people in the Johannesburg CBD, another blaze erupted in a hijacked building located in the same area.

Johannesburg Emergency Services have confirmed that the fire broke out at a building at 1 Delvers Close in Marshalltown on Friday morning, 15 September 2023. The building is a stone throw away from the very building that was on fire in August.

NO INJURIES IN JOBURG CBD FIRE

According to EMS spokesperson Xolile Khumalo, nobody was injured in the Johannesburg CBD building fire. It has also been learnt that the building was hijacked.

“It appears to be one of the hijacked buildings and there were shacks built inside. The fire started on the ground floor in the three-storey building. Everyone has been evacuated to safety and we have no injuries or casualties,” Khumalo said on Newzroom Afrika.

She adds that the blaze started on the ground floor, where residents have built shacks inside the building.

INQUIRY INTO HIJACKED BUILDINGS

A total of 77 people lost their lives in the Marshalltown building fire, sparking widespread anger over illegally occupied buildings. Many have pointed fingers at government for failing to adequately clamp down on hijacked buildings.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the tragedy, which will also look at hijacked buildings in the province.

SOURCE:Scores evacuated after ANOTHER Joburg CBD building fire (thesouthafrican.com)