A firefighter has died after falling from one of the top floors of a burning government building in the Johannesburg CBD on Wednesday.
A fire broke out on the top floor of the Gauteng provincial Department of Health offices on 37 Albertina Sisulu Road, opposite the City Library.
At around 11 am, a loud bang was heard and a firefighter fell from one of the high floors and crashed on the concrete pavement right in front of the main building entrance.
Paramedics surrounded the firefighter and covered his body.
Meanwhile, Department employees said they have been complaining about poor conditions at the building.
Percy Makholwa who works at the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements said staff had been raising issues with the department about the safety of the building, but so far nothing had been done.
“They kept on telling us that the building is safe ... we are asking the Gauteng government to take the lives of their employees seriously and respect our dignity,” said Makholwa.
He recalled how after they left the building they saw a person falling from the top floor of the 23-storey building to his death on the pavement.
