1 Dead and Over 800 Homes Destroyed As Pretoria and Johannesburg Battle Weekend Infernos
- Over 2,600 people were displaced after two separate fires broke out in the Gauteng province over the weekend
- One person was tragically killed when a fire broke out at the Cemetery View informal settlement in Pretoria
- Over 40 shacks were destroyed when a blaze engulfed a building in Jeppestown in the Johannesburg CBD
Source: Twitter
While KwaZulu-Natal had to contend with the ice this weekend, Gauteng was subjected to fire.
Two massive fires in the province have left one dead, three in hospital and thousands displaced.
800 homes destroyed in Pretoria blaze
In Pretoria, one person was killed when a fire broke out at the Cemetery View informal settlement.
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Two others were also taken to hospital after a fire ripped through the settlement in the early hours of Saturday morning, 21 September 2024.
It's unclear what started the multi-shack fire, but over 800 homes were gutted in the blaze.
Approximately 2,600 residents of the area were affected.
The following morning, many tried to erect new shelters so that they would not have to spend another night exposed to the elements.
Jeppestown blaze engulfs shacks
On the same day, over 40 people were displaced in Johannesburg when a fire broke out in Jeppestown.
Joburg Emergency Services spokesperson (EMS) Xolile Khumalo said the fire broke out in the evening, but the cause of the blaze was unknown.
“The building status is not available, but it is partitioned into shacks. All shacks inside the building were destroyed by fire, causing the roof to collapse. One person suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital," he said.
Numerous fires have broken out in the Johannesburg CBD in recent times, as vagrants take over abandoned builds that are not fit for anyone to live in.
Four killed in Jeppestown fire
The fire in Jeppestown comes less than a month after another blaze engulfed a building in the same area.
Briefly News reported that four people died in the fire, while three others were taken to hospital.
The blaze broke out in one part of a three-story residential building before it spread to other floors.
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Source: Briefly News
