Johnathan Paoli
An unidentified woman suspect has been arrested for the fire that raged through a residential building at the corner of Commissioner and Nugget Street on Sunday, leaving two people dead, four hospitalised and 200 homeless.
Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda said the city has reached out to the national government for assistance and support in dealing with the impact the fire has had on the residents.
“They would have to assist us financially in terms of the facilities we would need to allocate to the residents. A screening process will be undertaken once we have secured facilities where we can send them to,” Gwamanda said.
The mayor said that the city was working to find temporary accommodation for those who have been affected, but first a screening process has to be undertaken that would help determine the immigration status of the residents.
Johannesburg Emergency Services said flammable materials used in informal settlements were likely what fueled the building fire.
EMS spokesperson Nana Kgiba said there will be a preliminary investigation into the cause of the fire.
City Manager Floyd Brink said the case has been handed over to the police to conduct further investigations and confirmed that a woman had been charged with arson.
Brink said the fire was detected through the cameras the city has installed across the CBD.
“Through our own systems we managed to detect and that’s how we managed to deploy our teams and our fire engines,” Brink said.
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