Thick clouds of smoke filled the air over the city on Wednesday afternoon .
The cause: a factory fire in Driehoek.
Ekurhuleni Emergency Services responded in force to the fire, at the corner of Simgold Street and Cocopan Crescent, Driehoek.
No fatalities or injuries due to the blaze were reported on the scene.
“Information at our disposal was that the fire was started by a grass fire behind the factory,” said William Ntladi, media liaison officer for Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services.
“The grass was ignited by welding works which were being conducted on old electrical transformers, which were being stored on the open piece of land behind the factory.
“The dry grass caught fire as a result of the welding works being conducted and then ignited the transformers, which had oil in them, and the intense fire spread over the precast wall into the factory building.”
Upon arrival of the fire crews, the factory structure was well alight and the fire was spreading very rapidly across the building.
“Swift intervention from the crews who arrived first prevented the fire from spreading to the adjacent building,” said Ntladi.
“The flames were contained and knocked down through an offensive internal fire attack strategy.”
All 45 factory staff members were accounted for.
They all evacuated the premises safely without anyone being injured.
Ntladi added that detailed investigations are being conducted to establish the actual cause of the fire.
