The brother of one of the firefighters who died in the Bank of Lisbon building fire says the long-awaited release of the report is not only important for the victims’ families, but those firefighters who still carry the scars from the deadly blaze.
He was speaking a day after the release of the final report into the deadly fire in the inner city five years ago, which claimed the lives of his brother Khathutshelo Muedi, 37, Mduduzi Ndlovu, 40, and Simphiwe Moropane, 28.
The trio died while battling the fire that engulfed the building, which housed the Gauteng departments of health and human settlements, co-operative governance and traditional affairs.
Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi released the report more than two years after his predecessor David Makhura promised to do so.
Various findings were made against the departments leasing the building and the emergency management services.
The report found, among other things, that a fire suppression system was not installed in the offices occupied by the tenant departments and that they “did not conduct the risk assessment which could have identified non-compliance and brought it to the attention of the landlord”.
It also found that the renting departments contravened the environmental regulations for workplaces 9(2) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
On the handling of the fire by EMS, the report found that the crew dispatched to tackle the fire went into the building “without discussing a tactical approach to fight the blaze, analysing the risk”.
It also found that “during the ascent, two crew members donned the self-contained breathing apparatus which could have compromised their health”.
Additionally, the report found that the fire engines did not have radios for external communication with the control room or crew members who went into the building, and that the firefighters contravened a section of the Occupational Health and Safety Act by using a truck that had no radios for communication with the control room.
The cause of the fire came down to the failures by the departments to have firefighting equipment that was “available, in good condition and operational”.
“Failure to have a risk assessment that would address the risk the departments were exposing their employees and clients to on a daily basis.
“The cause of the loss of lives is an omission by the firefighting crew to conduct a task-based risk assessment before going into the building, which will address tactics, rules of engagement and retreats [and] the insufficient experience and depth of knowledge from the platoon commanders assigned to the incident,” it said.
“The risk assessment would have rated the fire risk as life-threatening and recommended remedies for the building for the safety of their employees and clients.”
Among the recommendations were that:
- the departments ensure compliance with fire safety regulations;
- fire drills and threats addressing fire drills be done frequently; and
- appointed fire servicing companies be monitored when on-site and should provide proof after servicing firefighting equipment, among others.
The cause of the loss of lives is an omission by the firefighting crew to conduct a task-based risk assessment before going into the building, which will address tactics, rules of engagement and retreats [and] the insufficient experience and depth of knowledge from the platoon commanders assigned to the incident.
— Report
“There may be a prima facie case of negligence against Ms Lebeloane for failing to exercise the necessary degree of care by leaving a bar heater in her office unsupervised and close to flammable material which ignited and caused the fire,” it also said.
Muedi’s younger brother Israel told TimesLIVE Premium that the family had made peace with his sudden and shocking death five years after the fact.
“We all took it like that, I’m talking on behalf of the siblings. We all understand that we can’t go back and change what happened so we are just going forward. Whether there is communication or not from the government, we just accept that this is life. One thing I do, I don’t even trust politicians.
“It took me three years to recover from that, but now, I can talk about it and be free because I understand that it happened,” he said.
Israel said he could not confirm if the government had kept in touch with the family or not as authorities may have reached out to his brother’s widow and children, and not necessarily his extended family. He said that, at any rate, he didn’t trust the promises made by politicians so he wasn’t holding out for any fulfilment on their part.
Reacting to the release of the report, Israel said it was important to not only consider giving closure to the affected families but also those who lived to tell the tale.
“That report is not only about my brother, it's also about those who are still working for the EMS. If the outcomes of the report are not good, it also affects them because every day or September, those guys think of that.
“It’s not only about the three families that lost their loved ones, it’s also those who suffered because it’s a permanent thing,” he said.
Lesufi in a statement released on Wednesday made a commitment to implement the findings made in the report. The affected departments and City of Joburg would also do the same, he insisted.
“The office of the premier has requested the city to share the report with affected family members of the deceased firefighters as part of their closure,” he said.
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