Charlotte Maxeke hospital closed down for 7 days as blaze causes smoke, structural damage

The Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in Johannesburg is to be closed down for seven days following a devastating blaze at the facility that had not been brought under control on Saturday. 

More than 16 hours after breaking out, a fire at the medical facility was still burning, despite having been thought to be extinguished on Friday. 

The blaze started on Friday in a storeroom at the hospital and according to Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, who visited the hospital on Saturday, said melting plastic and medical supplies were causing the flames to re-ignite. 

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The floor above the room where the fire started collapsed due to the heat generated, leading to Makhura and his team taking the decision to close the hospital down. 

Makhura said he had walked through the hospital and saw the smoke filtering through to the wards, even though the fire was contained to other areas. 

"We would like the hospital to resume its operation as soon as possible," said Makhura, noting that assessments would be done on the damage in order to determine when that could happen. 

He noted that "We cannot afford to have Charlotte Maxexe closed for too long" as it also was treating a number of Covid-19 patients, some of them in a cnritical condition. 

"We are guided by the specialists," he said.