Protea Gardens Mall in Soweto, Johannesburg Catches Alight, No Fatalities Reported but 2 Shops Damaged

• The Protea Gardens Mall in the south of Johannesburg caught alight on Wednesday evening, 24 August
• A full emergency team responded to the fire, and two fire engines worked throughout the night to extinguish the flames
• The blaze damaged two shops, but the Johannesburg emergency services reported no injuries or fatalities

JOHANNESBURG - A fire broke out at the Protea Gardens Mall in Soweto on Wednesday, 24 August.

A full emergency response team consisting of fire, police and other services responded to the scene. The Johannesburg Emergency Services confirmed that two shops were caught ablaze, but there were no injuries or casualties.

The South African reported that the building first caught fire at 7pm and raged on throughout the night as two fire engines worked to extinguish the flames.

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SABC News reported that the spokesperson for Johannesburg emergency service Nana Radebe Kgiba said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the police have ruled out any form of unrest related to the National Shutdown, which took place on the same day.

South Africans react to the Protea Gardens Mall fire

Protea Gardens Mall is a hub of the community of Soweto, so naturally, many social media users took to Twitter to share their views on the fire

Here are some comments:

@Noko153703154 tweeted:

“Mathata fela moes.”

@angie43639902 commented:

“I couldn’t believe when I saw videos forwarded on WhatsApp of the mall burning. Protea South had a power outage from 8 May & some residents used to charge their devices at the mall, now this.”

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Second firefighter dies after Cuban fuel depot blaze

In more fire news, Briefly News reported that Cuban authorities said that a second firefighter died battling a days-long blaze at a fuel depot that left nearly three dozen people missing or injured.

The 24-year-old firefighter from the country's east had been receiving hospital treatment for serious burns suffered combatting the inferno.

Another 14 missing firefighters are also feared dead, while more than 20 people are receiving hospital treatment.

Source: Briefly News