WATCH | Truck and building catch fire in Braamfontein

A fire broke out in Braamfontein in Johannesburg on Tuesday afternoon. 

The blaze was reported at the corner of De Korte and Bertha streets. 

Johannesburg EMS spokesperson Nana Radebe said emergency workers were called to the scene at about 3pm. 

“We found an E-goli gas truck had caught alight and the fire had spread to a building,” Radebe said. 

“The fire was contained and no injuries were reported.”

Unconfirmed reports stated the blaze was caused by a “gas explosion”. 

Radebe said this could not be confirmed.

She said the cause of the blaze would be investigated.

Bystander Natasha Amora told TimesLIVE: “We were chilling here when we heard an explosion and people started running down the street to go and take videos.

“We found out it was a gas explosion and the building was on fire. The fire department quickly responded and people have been evacuated.”

The City of Johannesburg has confirmed that EGoli Gas was doing routine maintenance work when the explosion happened.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, city manager Floyd Brink said: “In this case, this [is] a 355mm gas pipe from Egoli Gas where they are doing some form of a resealing. It's like an upgrade but also something that was a preventive measure on their side.

“They are working very closely with our entities including the JRA. We must indicate that we have met with the MD [of] EcoliGas and they will be issuing a statement. Going forward, we have agreed that we will work closely with them and deploy EMS teams to be on standby,” he said.  

TimesLIVE