October 23, 2002
By Thomas Thale
YET another historic government-owned building in the inner city has gone up in flames, leaving its occupants homeless and destitute. Miraculously, all the occupants of the building - all hawkers - escaped unscathed, but they lost all their goods.
The Marshall Street Barracks, once used to house soldiers, was engulfed by fire last night, destroying the west wing of the building. This is the second building owned by the Department of Public Works to be burnt down in the inner city this year. Five people died when The Drill Hall was reduced to ashes in April.
Fire consumes the historic Marshall Street Barracks
The cause of the latest fire is still unknown, but Malcolm Midgley, the spokesman for Emergency Management Services, speculated that the fire was caused by an "open flame".
The building was used as storage by many street traders. Some of the hawkers stayed in the building, but others only stored their goods there overnight. Virtually all the hawkers lost their means of survival. "I have lost everything - money, stock, clothes and even my ID document," said Irvin Nyathi who collects paper and plastic for recycling. At 60, Nyathi, who is originally from Bushbuckridge, has lost all his worldly possessions.
This morning, the street was partially cordoned off and the "red ants" - workers from Wozani Security - formed a human chain around the building to keep people away from the scene. Occupants of the building looked on helplessly as emergency workers struggled to put out the still smouldering flames. Nearby, charred remains of shoes, bags, wallets, clothing and hawker trolleys could be seen, testifying to the devastation wrought by the fire.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire started just after 9:30pm and spread very rapidly.
"The call came in at 9:40pm and the first engine was on the scene at 9:46. We managed to contain the fire within 25 minutes and within an hour, it was under control," said Midgley. The Bank of Athens, which is attached to the burnt building, was only saved by the speedy response of the EMS.
The fire spread so quickly, Midgley said, because there was a lot of flammable material inside the building. "There were plastics and cardboards all over." He attributed the absence of casualties to a "quick alarm. People evacuated the building very quickly".
Built in 1913, the building was used as barracks by the Transvaal Scottish regiment. The building became vacant in the mid-1990s and was later leased out to hawkers for use as storage.
Martin New, the regional manager of inner city regeneration described the building as unstable and "extremely dangerous. It is now a condemned building". Following a head count conducted last night, New put the number of occupants of the building at 69.
Khotso Chikane, the spokesman for the mayor, said that the fate of the people displaced by the fire will be decided in conjunction with the Department of Public Works.
"We will consult with the Department of Public Works and the South African Heritage Resources Agency before deciding on the fate of the building," Chikane said.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
