No person was injured when a fire broke out and gutted the top floor of the Forum 1 Building at Braampark Office Park in Johannesburg on Tuesday afternoon, emergency services have said.
The building housed FNB offices. The Johannesburg Metro Police Department, SA Police Services, and emergency services responded to the fire.
City of Johannesburg Emergency Medical Services spokesperson, Synock Matobako, said firefighters had successfully brought the fire under control and all the employees in the building were evacuated.
“At around 1.45pm we received a call that there was a fire on the fifth floor at Braampark in Braamfontein. On arrival we found that the fire was well alight and the roof totally collapsed,” Matobako said.
“We searched for any other people who may have been trapped inside the building. Fortunately there was no injuries but we have started moving all vehicles outside the office park because we are worried about the structural integrity of the building. But the the fire has been contained.”
Matobako said firefighters had began “damping down” the building, a process of wetting the building to ensure that the fire does not reignite after the firefighters have left.
Matobako said the cause of the fire was unknown at present, but will be investigated once the building gets there all clear.
Shocked workers stood agape in disbelief outside the office park chattering about the ‘scary experience’ they had while others took early leave and walked away towards public transport.
– African News Agency (ANA)
