WATCH: Fire engulfs official residence of FS premier

Firefighters were still on scene battling the blaze by lunchtime.

Spokesperson Sello Mathebe said the house was still under renovation when the fire started.

"The house was till under renovations by the Department of Public Works, right from when the former premier was still here. It is one part of the vast property, and it is the main house because work was going on and the new premier was yet to move in.”

Mathebe could not confirm if former premier Sisi Ntombela's belongings were destroyed in the blaze.

Ntombela resigned in February, paving away for Dukwana to take office.

"We cannot confirm at the moment, the ministerial handbook says the former incumbent has about 30 days to vacate, but some renovations had to be done to restore the state of the building, but furniture which belongs to the state, and other valuables obviously have been damaged,” said Mathebe.

"This would include antique furniture, paintings, artwork because it is in its own right a heritage resource, but more details will be shared because an asset register is kept in an incident such as this."

Meanwhile, Mangaung City spokesperson Qondile Khedama says the cause of fire is being investigated.

"We got the information around 9:38am and our fire fighters arrived within seven minutes, already the blaze was too high and additional support was mobilised, and the fire has been contained. 

"What could have caused the fire will be investigated by the police and the public works department. There were no injuries reported as there was nobody in the house at the time of the fire."

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