City of Tshwane’s Emergency Services have confirmed that a fire broke out at the Netcare Pretoria East Hospital on Thursday.
Speaking to IOL, spokesperson Valentine Matlala said there were no injuries or fatalities caused by the blaze.
“At this stage I just have a bit of information. What I can tell you is that we do not have fatalities, we are fine. There is no injuries from the patients that we have assisted to move out of the hospital,” he said at around 10pm on Thursday night.
“We are now moving the patients back into the hospital, to the wards that were not affected. The only area that has been affected is the theatre side. We are in the process of establishing a few things.
“After that, we need to send out out fire safety guys to come and check as to where the fire originated, with regards to the cause. That is the little bit I can give you at this stage as I gather all the information,” said Matlala.
Several pictures and videos were circulating on social media platforms on Thursday night, showing billows of black smoke coming through the roof of the Pretoria east hospital
Last month, parts of the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria were also engulfed by a blaze.
The fire reportedly broke out in a plant room on the seventh floor.
At the time, City of Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Lindsay Mnguni said 24 adult patients and one child were evacuated from the intensive care unit on the sixth floor and moved to a different ward which was not affected by the fire.
IOL