An adult male has been hospitalised with second-degree burns following a massive structural fire at the Rolfes Chemical factory in Germiston South earlier today.

According to Alberton Record, City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services spokesperson William Ntladi confirmed that hundreds of workers from neighbouring companies were evacuated after the blaze erupted around midday.

Evacuations and explosions

“Hundreds of workers in the neighbouring companies had to be evacuated after a massive structural fire involving volatile and flammable chemicals erupted in one of the factories in Germiston South,” said Ntladi.

He added that manufacturing operations in surrounding businesses were temporarily halted for safety reasons as ‘multiple heavy explosions were heard’ from the factory.

“One adult male is confirmed hospitalised after sustaining lower body second degree burns,” he said.

Multiple fire stations from the City of Ekurhuleni responded to the scene.

Firefighting response

Ntladi explained that a scene size-up and risk assessment were promptly conducted, leading to evacuations and road closures around the area to restrict both vehicle and pedestrian movement.

“Defensively, exposures were protected as flames were prevented from spreading to neighbouring companies,” he said.

Firefighters faced challenges due to continuous detonations as heated metal containers exploded during operations.

“Firefighting teams defensively protected the recycling company adjacent to Rolfes Chemical Company and all others in the neighbourhood from possible ignition,” Ntladi stated.

Preliminary information suggests that an undisclosed highly volatile chemical ignited due to sparking while being offloaded from a truck into storage tanks.

“The fire is currently extinguished, and teams are busy with damping down, cooling off all hot spots,” said Ntladi.

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