The fire in question broke out on Thursday morning 23 March while renovations were in progress. 

The departmental spokesperson, Mlungisi Maqubela, said there were no injuries and everyone working on-site was safely evacuated. “Although fire damage did occur, firefighters were able to contain it,” he added. 

PHOTOS: Motseki Ngubeni/Public Works & Infrastructure

Maqubela explained that the Director-General of the province, Kopung Ralikontsane, together with the departmental head, Ernest Mohlahlo, and some senior managers and engineers were on-site to assess the damage to execute speedy solutions.

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He concluded the cause of the fire is yet to be determined as the police spent time at the scene investigating. 

The spokesperson of the premier Sello Dithebe said the fire broke out before the new premier, Mxolisi Dukwana, had moved into the official residence. He explained the roof of the house caved in and the first/top floor is severely damaged. 

He didn’t want to speculate about the losses. He is, however, aware of the historical and valuable paintings inside. “The next step is to give space and allow the forensics to do their job to determine what caused the fire and determine the damage in the house,” he added.

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The spokesperson for the Mangaung Metro Municipality, Qondile Khedama, explained that it took Mangaung Fire and Rescue seven minutes to arrive at the scene after they received the emergency call. “After the officials arrived on the scene and assessed the magnitude of the fire, they noticed that backup is needed in order to put out the fire as quickly as possible,” explained Khedama. The information he was given by his team is that in addition to the damaged roof, a wall has also been damaged. “As to what caused the fire, it will not be determined by us. The relevant authorities on the scene will do that.”

OFM News