Students in Braamfontein are grateful that they managed to escape a blaze allegedly caused by a gas pipe leak.
The fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon on the corner of Bertha and De Korte streets.
It is alleged that workers from eGoli Gas were servicing a gas pipeline in the area when a truck caught fire. Soon after, a South Point building was also burning.
Attempts by Sunday World to speak to eGoli Gas employees who were at the scene drew a blank, as they refused to engage with the media.
However, students and residents were willing to share their witness accounts.
Nkosinomusa Xaba, a 22-year-old student at Rosebank College, said: “What we witnessed was very traumatic.
“At first I was so shocked, but I managed to pull myself together and calmed down when I realised that it was a very dire situation.”
Other students, Mukhethwa Mukhoro and Dinilethu Malatse, said the blaze erupted near the Rosebank College building.
Twenty-year-old Mukhoro relived the shocking experience.
“I feared for my life when I saw the fire. It took place near the institution [Rosebank College]. This means it is not safe and the government is failing us with [its old] infrastructure.”
Malatse, also 20 years old, shared the same sentiments.
“This situation is not surprising as fires happened in Bree [in July], Marshalltown [on Thursday last week] and now here in Braamfontien.
“These are not mistakes, I think they are planned. There are no results or reports to account for these fires. It is concerning.”
Andrea Buhr, another student at Rosebank College, said she no longer feel safe walking around the city.
“I don’t feel safe as I am not well-informed with all these random fires happening every now and then,” said Buhr.
“Safety is my great concern and there are so many students [studying and staying] in Braamfontein.”
Johannesburg emergency medical services spokesperson Nana Radebe-Kgiba confirmed that at least five people were injured. They were treated for minor injuries on the scene.
A resident student who refused to be identified said there was a smell of gas lingering in the air when he passed the scene of the blaze on his way to class in the morning.
Neil Cooper, a faculty manager at South Point, said it was terrible witnessing what had happened.
“This building is one of our babies, each building that South Point owns is a baby to us. It is terrible to see what has happened to the building,” said Cooper.
“However, the good thing is that nobody got [seriously] hurt in the process, and that our evacuation drill worked.
“This is minor damage, we will renovate [the building] once police investigations are done.”
The blaze in Braamfontein follows hot on the heels of another one at a five-storey building in central Johannesburg last week.
Over 70 people died when the building on the corner of Alberts and Delvers streets caught fire in the early hours of Thursday morning last week.
Many other people were admitted to the hospitals across the city while some of the survivors of the fire are being accommodated in various shelters.
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