Fear and unanswered questions linger in the minds of residents in the City of Johannesburg as more unexplained fires gut through buildings in Marshalltown.
On 1 October, a commission of inquiry chaired by retired judge Justice Sisi Khampepe is scheduled to start its probe into a recent fire that killed 77 people.
This week alone, two buildings in the same vicinity have been engulfed by flames with no clear explanation of what caused the fires.
The latest fire ripped through the files storage facility in the basement of the South Africa Revenue Service building in Marshalltown on Wednesday.
Some residents say they are worried that they could be the next victims having their building catch fire.
Thousands of residents along Lilian Ngoyi Street and other adjoining streets in the heart of Johannesburg also live in fear after a methane gas explosion collapsed Bree Street into the service tunnel underground.
Residents say the nightmare of 77 people killed at the Usindiso Shelter for Abused Women and Children is still fresh in their minds.
And they wonder if they are next.
While lives have been lost, properties are being damaged and the city emergency services are being stretched putting out the fires, politicians are playing a blame game with no political party taking responsibility for what is happening in the glittering city of gold.
While the Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) are battling to have their fire engines serviced, they are compelled to use what they have putting more engines in and around the city centre.
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In an interview with Scrolla.Africa, Johannesburg EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi admitted the city is short of fire engines. He revealed that out of 30 fire engines, only 15 are working and five fire stations are placed on standby to respond to any fire incidents in the city centre.
"We have the Johannesburg Central, Brixton, Hillbrow, and Fairview among other stations that are monitoring developments in the city centre," said Mulaudzi.
He said he is not sure when the other 15 fire engines will be repaired and back on the streets.
Meanwhile, the office of the Gauteng Premier confirmed that a commission of inquiry has to establish the cause of the blaze at a building in Marshalltown where 77 people died has been established.
Speaking to Scrolla.Africa on Wednesday, Premier Panyaza Lesufi's spokesperson Sizwe Pamla confirmed that the commission of inquiry will start its work on 1 October. "There will be a briefing next week which will detail how the commission will work," said Pamla.
