Fire kills 12, injures 27 at special needs home

The Ekurhuleni metro says it will do all it can to help the survivors of a fire that gutted a special needs home in Springs in the early hours of this morning

Metro spokesman Zweli Dlamini said: “We are going to be doing all we can as a municipality to give full support to the home”.

Police spokesman Captain Johannes Ramphora said the fire had been extinguished by 9am but the building was uninhabitable as the roof had also been destroyed.

Forensic investigators would examine the debris to establish the  cause of the fire.

“At the moment it is too soon to say whether it was electrical or a problem with gas. We don’t know.”   

Earlier, he described the scene as “terrible”.    

He said the fire was reported at midnight and when police arrived fire fighters were already working to extinguish the blaze.

Netcare911 spokesman Jeffrey Wicks said the fire fighters’ efforts were “praiseworthy”.    

By 2am fire fighters had the fire under control and were damping  down the smouldering building.    

The scene was attended by Ekurhuleni and Gauteng emergency services, as well as Netcare011 and ER24.

The rescue teams split into two teams with one team fighting the  blaze and another team evacuating residents.

• In August last year, at least 18 people died in a fire at the Pieter Wessels home for the aged in Nigel, Gauteng.