Waking up to a sound ‘louder than a bomb blast’ and the ground shaking was a frightening experience – and one that a tenant living in a building in New Doornfontein in Johannesburg will never forget. 

Yesterday morning, four people were injured during an explosion in the building situated at the intersection of Lower Railway Road and Staib Street. 

Emergency services initially responded to reports that a transformer had exploded, allegedly causing the collapse of a room and an adjoining boundary wall. 

But since doing a preliminary investigation, Joburg City Power has denied these claims.   

The tenant, who did not want to be named, was sleeping when he heard a loud blast. 

“The whole building shook. It was very frightening because I did not know what was happening. I ran out of the building with other tenants and stood on the street. We were trying to figure out what was going on,” says the tenant. 

The tenant adds that as he stood on the street, a blanket of thick smoke covered the sky, and a portion of the building was on fire. 

“The smoke made it difficult to breathe,” he says.   

While standing on the street, the tenant saw three people lying on the ground. 

“I walked toward them and realised they were unconscious,” he says, adding that they appeared to have suffered severe burn injuries. 

He adds that people who were standing around the area began calling the police, firefighters and paramedics for help. When emergency services arrived, they put out the fire and treated the injured. 

“At first, I thought it was a gas explosion, but I was told that a transformer had exploded. I am thankful I was not hurt and my home was not destroyed,” adds the tenant. 

He says by this morning, tenants whose homes were damaged were trying to clean up what they could. 

Electricity network safeguarded 

Xolile Khumalo, the spokesperson for Joburg Emergency Management Services, says emergency services responded to a report of a transformer explosion.  

“The transformer was housed within a small utility storage room. The explosion allegedly caused the collapse of a room and adjoining boundary wall. Four individuals sustained injuries during the incident and were transported by Gauteng Provincial Government ambulance services to nearby hospitals.” 

Khumalo says the matter has been handed over to Joburg City Power for management investigation. 

City Power, however, says its preliminary investigations confirmed that the ground-mounted transformer did not explode.  

The Citizen reported that the transformer tripped in response to the explosion, operating as designed to protect itself and the wider electricity network from further damage. 

“The transformer oil remains intact, with no evidence of an electrical or transformer-related explosion,” says City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena. 

City Power adds that the damage to neighbouring properties was ‘not consistent’ with the damage associated with transformer or electrical explosions. 

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