Survivors of the fire that gutted down a building in Marshalltown Johannesburg where so far 73 people perished and scores hospitalised for smoke inhalation and other injuries, are still reeling in shock and trauma.
The fire started in the early hours of Thursday morning and when emergency services arrived, scores of bodies were lying on the pavement believed to be people who jumped from the building when it caught fire.
Firefighters and emergency services were still inside the building where they have since recovered 73 bodies and believe the numbers could still rise as the people were living in overcrowded conditions where some are said to have been living inside shacks erected inside the building.
The survivors who are residents of the five-storey Usindiso Building said they were woken by fire at around 1am and they believe it was started by a candle. And those like Doreen Mukwena who survived the fire and a fall from the second floor, are in anguish.
Sitting outside the charred building Mukwena spoke to Newsnote about how they woke up at midnight to screams and terrified people yelling ‘fire, fire’.
“We woke up around 12am with people screaming ‘fire, fire’ and some of us staying on the second floor jumped through the window,” she said pointing to her fresh scars on her face and adding that she got injured in the process .
“My hand got injured and my leg including my face. But I’m glad I survived. My husband had his leg broken. He was with our daughter when this happened,” she added.
Mukwena took her daughter to her sister and came back to guard the belongings she managed to save.
Nokuhle Sibanda said she narrowly escaped death along with her two children aged 2 and 13-years-old but she sadly her neighbours were not so fortunate as they perished in the fire.
Sibanda said people covered themselves with blankets and used beds as shields to protect themselves from the raging fire on their way out of the building.
“I was lucky to come out of the building. I came out with my two kids. My neighbour’s sister died, she stayed on the same floor as us. I’m just happy to be alive.
Another survivor is Sphamandla Qende from Umtata, Eastern Cape who said he will have to move in with friends to find shelter.
Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said they have evacuated all people in the building.
“The building has been turned into an informal settlement with more than 80 shacks. The fire spread very quickly affecting different levels of the building because of the combustible materials used.
“Firefighters managed to evacuate all the people out of the building and people were treated on scene and later transported to various health care facilities for further medical care. Firefighter crews are currently busy with damping down.
“EMS will conduct preliminary investigations to determine what caused the fire after fire fighting operations are done.”
Officials and politicians from all three spheres of government descended on the area while some survivors and curious bystanders continued to watch from afar as Delvers and surrounding Streets in the CBD have been closed..
