Factory on fire as JHB commuters head home

Cape Town – A Johannesburg-based aerosol factory
executed their evacuation with precision, after a fire
started in the warehouse on Friday afternoon,
causing multiple explosions.


Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality Emergency
Services spokesperson William Ntladi told Fin24 that
one person had minor burns to his leg and was
rushed to Arwyp Medical Centre in Kempton Park.


The factory, owned by multinational consumer
goods company Reckitt Benckiser, is based on
Jansen Road in Jet Park, a stone's throw away from
OR Tambo Airport.


Jansen Road was closed while the canisters were
exploding, said Ntladi, but has since reopened. "We
got a call at 15:00 and dispatched seven fire engines
with their full teams attending to the scene," he said.


"The rest of the staff were accounted for and there
are no other injuries," he said. "The people were in
the warehouse, but they managed to evacuate
everyone from the structure that caught fire."


"With the aerosols exploding all over the factory, the
speedy evacuation was well done," he said.


"Emergency services contained the fire to prevent it
from spreading, but the structure was made of
corrugated iron and has crumbed, so we can't get
inside. The fire has now been contained and we are
dealing with damping down and cooling off the
hotspots."


"We will be here for the next two hours," he said.