thryve
August 28th, 2005, 03:14 PM
I made a thread for this as it's big news, like that CT skyscraper fire. Anyways, this is not good!!! I saw it on the news and immediately checked it out...
Fire destroys ANC offices at Luthuli House
Firefighters battled for more than two hours to put out a blaze at the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg while the organisation's top brass, including Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and a small group of bystanders watched.
The fire on the sixth floor of Luthuli House destroyed the offices of the secretariat, including that of Kgalema Motlanthe, the secretary-general, a boardroom and reception area.
Motlanthe, who had entered the building and was in the basement parking lot, said he had been contacted by a security guard who heard a loud explosion around 1pm.
"By the time we went to investigate, there was a lot of smoke on the sixth floor," Motlanthe said, adding that the fire may have been caused by an electrical problem. Asked if there might have been anything sinister, he said: "One can only establish the facts after an investigation."
Malcolm Midgley, the emergency services spokesperson, said firefighters from four stations in Johannesburg were involved. He said the fire might have been started by a faulty air conditioner, but that could only be determined after an investigation.
Smoke poured from the building for more than two hours.
Firefighters used oxygen masks while hosing the blaze. Ezekiel Brand, one of them, said: "It was burning very fast. Visibility was bad because of the heavy smoke."
Jackie Selebi, the national police commissioner, and Perumal Naidoo, the Gauteng commissioner, were also at the scene and became involved in a turf war with emergency services.
Willie Barker, the divisional commander in charge of the operation, agreed to let an ANC official be taken to the scene to try to retrieve documents. However, Selebi ordered them not to go ahead.
"You can't go, we are in charge," said Naidoo to a firefighter about the plan. "You can't go until we get our forensic guys over."
Fire destroys ANC offices at Luthuli House
Firefighters battled for more than two hours to put out a blaze at the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg while the organisation's top brass, including Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and a small group of bystanders watched.
The fire on the sixth floor of Luthuli House destroyed the offices of the secretariat, including that of Kgalema Motlanthe, the secretary-general, a boardroom and reception area.
Motlanthe, who had entered the building and was in the basement parking lot, said he had been contacted by a security guard who heard a loud explosion around 1pm.
"By the time we went to investigate, there was a lot of smoke on the sixth floor," Motlanthe said, adding that the fire may have been caused by an electrical problem. Asked if there might have been anything sinister, he said: "One can only establish the facts after an investigation."
Malcolm Midgley, the emergency services spokesperson, said firefighters from four stations in Johannesburg were involved. He said the fire might have been started by a faulty air conditioner, but that could only be determined after an investigation.
Smoke poured from the building for more than two hours.
Firefighters used oxygen masks while hosing the blaze. Ezekiel Brand, one of them, said: "It was burning very fast. Visibility was bad because of the heavy smoke."
Jackie Selebi, the national police commissioner, and Perumal Naidoo, the Gauteng commissioner, were also at the scene and became involved in a turf war with emergency services.
Willie Barker, the divisional commander in charge of the operation, agreed to let an ANC official be taken to the scene to try to retrieve documents. However, Selebi ordered them not to go ahead.
"You can't go, we are in charge," said Naidoo to a firefighter about the plan. "You can't go until we get our forensic guys over."