FANA Mnguni, Deputy Director in the EMS's Public Safety Division, testified before the Usindiso Fire inquiry on commission on Tuesday, 12 March.
He told the commission of inquiry that no compliance of the building in fire safety could have possibly led to delays in fighting the fire and saving lives.
Mnguni was the first to be cross-examined.
He was among the first three witnesses to be called before the commission last year in October to give a testimony.
During that time, he gave details on the arrival time of the various emergency vehicles and the overall operations.
Just six months after that testimony, Mnguni was back in the hot seat of Judge Sisi Khampepe's inquiry, which is currently underway in Parktown, Joburg.
Speaking on the difficulty of dealing with the fire that killed 77 people, injured 60 more and left many homeless, Mnguni said a lot of factors played a role among those was noncompliance with the building.
“A lot of my colleagues have taken to the stand to say even gaining access to the building was a mission, adding delays in fighting the fire and rescuing individuals in the building.
ALSO READ: Nasi Ispani for ‘votes’ slammed!
At the beginning of March, Daily Sun reported the possible reasons behind the deadly fire and how it had started from the ground floor in the hall and spread to other levels of the building.
Among those reasons are difficulty accessing the building halls and exotic accelerants, which may provide physical evidence of a fire cause.
Mnguni, through his observation and understanding, said the spread of the fire was rapid due to the material used due to partitioning.
Cross-examination will resume on Wednesday, March 13, with additional witnesses, including Helen Botas, Managing Director of the Joburg Property Company, and EMS Chairperson Rapulana Monageng, expected to testify.
