Clairwood Hospital fire: one dead, multiple buildings affected

One person is reported to have died after multiple buildings at the Clairwood Hospital went up in flames in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Sources from the emergency response teams on the ground told the POST that the deceased was a female patient, who allegedly started the fire.

A source from within the eThekwini Fire Department, who battled the fire from around 2am until 6.30am, said numerous buildings in a section of the hospital were gutted.

“There were between 15 to 17 buildings that were affected by the fire. We had to work on each one individually because of the ducting and other infrastructure inside the building. That is what took a lot of time in terms of putting the fire out.

“There were four stations that responded to the call. So it was quite intense and a lot of teams were on the ground. The fire is allegedly a result of a patient who set-herself alight and thereafter the fire spread to other wards in that section of the hospital. We did not confirm that but we found one person burnt beyond recognition,” the source said.

eThekwini Fire's Department's Division Commander, Justin Bateman, said between 24 and 25 patients were evacuated.

The police referred the POST to the fire department for comment.

* This is a developing story.

THE POST