Johannesburg - A building that caught alight in the Joburg CBD has been stripped for metal and other resources this weekend, with the displaced residents worried that the building could collapse at any moment.
More than 100 people were living in the hijacked building on Commissioner Street when a small fire quickly transformed into a raging inferno on Thursday night.
Residents fled from the flames, but their small, cardboard-covered rooms were quickly engulfed. With the building now in ruin, they have nowhere to go.
Security company FASDA tweeted on Friday that looters were stripping the unstable building of metal. This has prompted fears that, like the old Orlando power station in Soweto, the roof could collapse, burying looters under rubble.
The Star reported in July how four people were killed and six others injured when the power station was looted of its structural steel.
And with the damage from the fire and the metal looters, residents at the CBD building are worried that the five or six people still trying to live in the ashy remains could be hurt if the city does not step in to relocate all of the former residents.
The first floor roof appears to be most structurally compromised, as anyone trying to walk on the second floor could feel it shaking.
On Sunday, lawyers from the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) visited the building to register the more than 100 residents who had to flee from the fire.
SERI director Nomzamo Zondo told The Star that the city had provided some food and blankets for the residents, but that there was little word from the City of Joburg on whether the destitute group could be relocated.
She added that before the fire, SERI was engaged in a legal battle with the city over an eviction order against the squatters. However, it’s unclear what will happen now.
Maria Kunene had lived with her two teenage children at the building since 2011, but the trio are now completely destitute after the flames robbed them of almost all of their possessions.
“Their uniforms, their books, they’re all burnt. How will they write their tests (exams) this year?” asked Kunene.
The mother-of-two was at the building when it caught alight. The high winds carried the flames and smoke towards her tiny room.
Fleeing with just the clothes on her back, she wasn’t even able to retrieve her cellphone before the building was entirely aflame.
She spent Friday and Saturday nights on the streets of Joburg, and without any family nearby, she questioned where she would ultimately end up.
“I applied for RDP housing in 2006, and I’m still waiting. Where must I go now?” she asked.
Attempts to contact the City of Joburg were unsuccessful on Sunday, with city spokesman Nthathisi Modingoane referring questions to other officials who could not be reached for any comment.
The Star