Major areas, Braamfontein, Parktown and Newtown are experiencing power outages after a building fire erupted from a transformer failure.
A fire broke out early Friday morning at the corner of Bree and Harrison Streets near the License Hall Lofts building, cutting power to the Johannesburg CBD.
Newtown, parts of Parktown, Braamfontein, Bree West, Bank City, Ferreirasdorp, parts of the Johannesburg CBD, and Marshalltown are affected.
Residents reported hearing a loud bang around 2 am and seeing a large blaze.
Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Xolile Khumalo told The Citizen firefighters responded shortly after 4:30am, evacuated the building, and successfully extinguished the fire at around 7am this morning.
No one sustained injuries in the blaze.
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Substation affected
EMS is still on scene conducting damping-down operations to prevent re-ignition.
“Smoke is still visible,” said Khumalo.
He said initial observations indicate the fire originated on the ground floor of the sixteen-storey building and did not spread to other floors.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena confirmed that a feeder tripped at the Bree substation.
“From a preliminary external assessment, it appears that only one transformer has been affected by the
fire.
“The Bree Substation will remain switched off until the investigation has been completed,” he added.
Restoration of supply will only commence once it is confirmed that it is safe to do so and EMS has cleared the area for entry.
The utility advised motorists to use alternative routes, as traffic signals across the affected areas are impacted.
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