Two children killed in Joburg inner city fire

Two young children perished in a fire in a condemned block of flats in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on Wednesday afternoon.

Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, who visited the scene, said two rooms caught fire on the first floor, “which then escalated to the second floor, thus claiming two children's lives”.

Joburg emergency services said: "The minors, who are suspected to be between the ages of 7 and 5 years, were left alone in the locked apartment."

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

The Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Research Institute said it had previously voiced its concern that the building, called the Florence Nightingale, was a fire trap.

“We need action to happen to prevent further tragedy.

“The history of this goes all the way back to 2006 when Wits RHI first came into the Hillbrow health precinct. The Florence was already illegally occupied and over the years multiple visits have been had from Johannesburg mayors, [Gauteng] premiers and city managers. There have been multiple conversations at multiple levels in the city of how this building is a fire trap and a disaster waiting to happen.

“People deserve to live in buildings that are safe and fit for human habitation,” the institute said. It has invited the mayor and city manager to a meeting.

Gwamanda, who commended firefighters for their efforts in containing and extinguishing the fire, said the city was working with relevant government departments to assist affected residents.