Secret smoke break cause of Durban police station fire

Some policeman’s secret smoke break is thought to have forced the evacuation of the entire 14-storey Durban Central police station after a fire broke out in a bathroom on Wednesday.

It is understood the fire started in a waste paper bin in a toilet on the 11th floor.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said that an alarm was sounded when officers reported smoke billowing from windows on the floor.

After the building was evacuated‚ including officers manning the phone lines at the 10111 emergency call centre‚ fire-fighters and the Police’s Search and Rescue entered the building.

“The rescue teams found that someone had thrown a cigarette butt into the bin‚ which caught on fire. There was a lot of smoke so everyone was evacuated as a safety precaution‚” he said.

“There was no damage to property and no one was injured. Work at the building and all the services are continuing‚” Zwane added.