Woman arrested after two die in Johannesburg CBD building fire

Two people died and four others were injured in a fire at a residential building in Commissioner Street in the Johannesburg CBD on Sunday. 

The bodies were found in the first floor of the building while the injured are believed to have jumped from a balcony. 

Several other people were safely evacuated from the two-storey building.

Johannesburg city manager Floyd Brink said the fire was believed to have been started deliberately. 

Addressing the media at the scene, Brink said one person, a woman, had been arrested for arson. 

While police investigations unfold, the city's forensic team was on the scene conducting its own investigations, 

Brink said the fire had been detected through the monitoring systems the city has in place and they did not receive a call reporting the fire. 

Firefighters were on the scene within 10 minutes, he said. 

Commenting on the ownership of the building, Brink said: “This is definitely a hijacked building.” 

He said the building had been a subject of investigation for some time with the person claiming to be the owner embarking on a court battle to try to have the building occupants evicted.

Brink said this was not granted “because of the lack of evidence. He was not able to prove that he is the actual owner of the building.” 

However the city and the Public Investment Corporation continued to try to implement long-term solutions to address the issue of bad buildings, saying they were looking for “a long-term and systematic approach” to this, he said.

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