THE Commission of Inquiry into the horrific fire that claimed the lives of 77 people at the hijacked Usindiso building in Marshalltown is set to continue on Friday, 27 October, in Parktown, Joburg.
The commission was instituted to look into the circumstances surrounding the fire, amongst other things.
The inquiry, led by Justice Sisi Virgian Khampepe, started on Thursday, 26 October, with horrifying details from the Acting Chief of the Emergency Service, Rapulane Monageng.
Monageng was the first witness to give evidence in the commission, and he detailed how the fire started from the ground floor of the five-storey building.
He told the commission that the Usindiso building was a ticking time bomb due to poor fire prevention measures.
Monageng labelled the conditions inside the buildings as a maze, saying the 'homes' were created of highly flammable materials such as wooden boards, plywood, chipboard and plastics.
He said the difficulty in distinguishing the fire was that every corner of the building had been converted into living space using wooden structures and, in some instances, shacks.
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"The emergency route was blocked off with boxes. It was blocked off with plywood. But this door, when it's locked, you can't even access the stairwells on the other side," he said.
Monageng said there were severe fire hazards in the building, including cardboard material, gas stoves and poor fire prevention systems, which could have led to the fire and gaveit power to ignite as it did.
Detailing what he found on the scene when he arrived for duty, he said it was difficult for them to get in as the lower level of the floor was too hot, making it hard for them to go through the burning floors.
He said the firefighters were able to put out the fire on the third floor.
Monageng showed the commission pictures of the fourth floor, which survived the blaze.
"The fire never even went to the fourth floor. Nothing on the floor could show the fire was there. It was mostly heating damage and smoke damage, and that's it," he said.
