Midrand complex that caught fire was a converted office building: MMC

Johannesburg Housing MMC Mlungisi Mabaso says the building that caught fire in Midrand, north of Johannesburg. was an office building that had been converted into a residential complex.

The blaze that broke out at Broadwalk Urban Village on Broadwalk Street on Tuesday night left one person dead and many others injured.

Mabaso says the City should regularly inspect properties to check whether they are compliant in terms of safety standards.

“Our focus was on the inner city considering the incidents that have occurred in the inner city but now these incidents are going outside the inner city… meaning now that the City of Johannesburg needs to focus on all its properties, regardless of the location of the property in our jurisdiction. That is the exercise that we need to embark on to make sure that our by-laws are enforced; to check compliance and to check if all these properties in terms of their planning and development processes have applied and have obtained approval within the City.”

Meanwhile, a resident at the complex who witnessed the incident is calling for urgent intervention.

Tebogo Seloane says not much is being done to assist the affected families since the fire broke out.

He explains his ordeal in detail in the video below: