A South African Revenue Service (Sars) building at Frederick and Rissik streets in Marshalltown, Johannesburg, caught fire on Wednesday afternoon.
According to Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Nana Masechaba Kgiba, the fire happened in the storage room, which is in the basement.
"We can confirm that the fire has been contained at the basement level, which is used as storage. We can confirm for now that everyone is safe and is out of the building,’’ she said.
Kgiba said it was still unclear what caused the fire.
“We will do preliminary investigation of what caused the fire,’’ she said.
This is the third fire reported in Joburg CBD within a space of a month, including the hijacked building where 77 residents burnt to death on August 31.
The fire comes a day after City of Joburg closed offices in Braamfontein because of faulty transformers and a fire that occurred on Saturday.
The building is home to City of Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, city manager Brink, and Speaker Colleen Makhubele, who were evacuated after the latest blaze.
The MMC for Public Safety, Dr Mcini Tshwaku said that the City had embarked on an inspection of buildings that pose a fire risk.
Joburg Transport MMC Kenny Kunene highlighted the importance of inspecting and closing down inhabitable and health-hazardous buildings in Johannesburg.
He says they aim to ensure such tragic incidents are prevented by removing people from inadequate establishments. They inspected the building on Albert and Delver streets, next to the one that burnt, in collaboration with Operation Restore and Operation Manje Namhlanje.
IOL