Two people have died following a fire at the Marathon Informal Settlement in Primrose during the early hours of Saturday, 10 January 2026.
“The City of Ekurhuleni Emergency Management Services (EMS) received a distress call at approximately 03:55 reporting a fire involving multiple shacks. A district response was immediately activated, with firefighting crews from Primrose, Bedfordview and Edenvale fire stations dispatched to the scene,”
said City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services Spokesperson, Eric Maloka.
“On arrival, emergency personnel found several shacks fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters conducted both offensive and defensive firefighting operations, successfully containing and extinguishing the blaze and preventing it from spreading further.
During search and rescue operations, two unidentified adult bodies were discovered at the scene.”
He said many residents managed to evacuate safely before the fire spread.
The cause of the fire remains unknown and is under investigation. The scene was handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for further inquiry. Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) Medical Services declared the two victims deceased at the scene.
