Cable theft and vandalism suspected to be behind M1 fire

City Power says cable theft and vandalism may have caused the M1 fire. The power utility is working around the clock to restore electricity after the blaze gutted infrastructure and disrupted services.

The blaze broke out under the bridge early on Thursday.

Parts of the M1 Highway between Smith Street and the Crown interchange were partially closed off to traffic to allow officials to do their work.

The blaze resulted in a major power outage affecting several areas, including Parktown West, Newtown Junction, De Korte North and surrounding areas.

Fire

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said Johannesburg Emergency Services (EMS) has successfully put out the fire from the underground tunnels in Braamfontein.

“While the work of extinguishing the fire has been ongoing for the entire day, our teams have been hard at work, attempting to reinstate the power supply through the use of various options, including interconnectors and nearby substations.

“So far, we have managed to restore about 17 percent of affected customers situated along Juta Street, Eendracht Street, Smit West Street Smith North Street and the Braamfontein Crematorium. After assessing the condition of the interconnectors, we discovered that two of the cables had faults,” Mangena said.

M1 fire

This is not the first fire on the M1. Last year, a fire on the M1 highway in Johannesburg was suspected to have been sparked by vandals.

Parts of Johannesburg‘s inner city were filled with smoke after underground cables caught alight.

The blaze caused power outages in several parts of the city, including Braamfontein, Page View, Parktown, Melville, Amalgam, Vrededop, Johannesburg and surrounding areas.

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Cable theft

Mangena said the fire affected the 88kV circuit between Braamfontein and Fordsburg Substation.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire may have been caused by yet another incident of suspected cable theft and vandalism, a growing trend linked to the criminal activities of zama-zamas operating in the Inner City underground tunnels.

“These groups, often violent and heavily armed, continue to pose a serious threat to critical power infrastructure and the safety of our personnel,” Mangena said.

Call to police

Mangena has reiterated City Power’s urgent call for increased and sustained police intervention.

“This criminal scourge is undermining service delivery and placing the lives of our teams at risk.”

Damages

Mangena added that after receiving the “green light from EMS”, City Power’s teams will begin assessing the extent of the damage.

“Thereafter, we will start work on repairing the damaged network. We urge residents to remain patient as we work to resolve this issue.

“We also call on customers whose power supply has been restored to use electricity sparingly, to avoid overloading the system,” Mangena said.

City Power has apologised for the inconvenience.

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