In an unfortunate incident, a raging fire has claimed the lives of four people in the early hours of Sunday morning in one of the abandoned buildings in Jeppe?s Town in Johannesburg CBD.

At least three people have died and three others injured in a fire at a Jeppestown building in the Joburg CBD on Sunday. ? Joburg EMS pic.twitter.com/Uluf3Bexsu

— Yasantha Naidoo (@NaidooYasantha) August 25, 2024

DEADLY IZINYOKA NYOKA

EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi explained that they believe that the fire was caused by illegal electrical connections.

"Unfortunately four people died as a result of the fire, three other people are critically injured with one of them receiving medical treatment at Charlotte Maxeke and two others were admitted at Hlibrow Hospital," said Mulaudzi.

Maluadzi explained that the state of the building is in dilapidated and residents used anything they could find to partition it.

"We have successfully extinguished the fire and rescued all residents, however, we have now handed the building over to the South African Police Services for further investigations," he said.

JEPPE BURDENED BY FIRE

On the 11th of August 12 shops caught fire on Jeppe and Gound streets in Joubert Park, Joburg CBD. Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Xolile Khumalo said EMS firefighters responded to a structural fire at the corner of Jeppe and Goud streets in Joubert Park. 

"Upon arrival, crews found that the fire had impacted twelve small shops in the area. They acted swiftly to contain the blaze, and fortunately, no injuries were reported." 

She said the cause of the fire was still under investigation, and at the time they urged all warehouse and shop owners to exercise caution and ensure that all electrical appliances were turned off after use. 

Over the past few years, there have been a couple of incidents where abandoned buildings in Johannesburg have been haunted by fires which have claimed many lives.