An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of a fire that broke out at Netcare Pretoria East Hospital.
On Thursday, the fire caused widespread commotion, leading to the evacuation of around 200 patients from the facility.
Several pictures shared on social media showed dark smoke rising over the hospital building. Patients could be seen assembled outside the wards, some with their loved ones and medical staff.
Tshwane Emergency Services firefighters, who responded swiftly to the incident, managed to extinguish the fire that had spread over the hospital theatres, damaging solar panels on the roof.
MMC for Community Safety Hannes Coetzee praised the emergency services for their prompt response and sterling work in putting out the fire.
He noted that hundreds of patients were safely moved outside the facility under the care of medical staff.
Fortunately, no injuries or fatalities were reported. After the fire was extinguished, the hospital was declared safe, and patients were returned to their wards.
Coetzee said: “I just want to congratulate the emergency services for the great job that they are doing. Sometimes we don’t really understand but when you are on a site like this; you can see what they are doing; putting their lives at risk to save other people’s lives,” he said.
He said the fire was spread over some of the hospital theatres where the solar panels and everything burnt.
In a television interview, Netcare spokesperson Lynne O'Connor confirmed that the fire started near the theatre complex and was quickly brought under control thanks to the swift response of the Tshwane emergency services department.
“We know that the fire started near the theatre complex. Firefighters, I must say, they were here on the scene really quickly. We have a big thank you to the Tshwane emergency department. They were very quickly able to extinguish the blaze,” she said.
O'Connor said patients were evacuated as a precautionary measure and part of the disaster management protocol.
“It is a little too early for us to say what caused the fire,” she said, adding that an investigation will take place to figure out the cause of the accident.
She said Netcare was prepared for eventualities such as the fire on Thursday evening, saying patients were taken out of the facility as soon as the alarm went off.
Pretoria News