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Sandton’s Greenhouse restaurant in goes up in flames, Johannesburg
A fire broke out at the popular Greenhouse restaurant in Sandton on Saturday evening, 26 February 2022, where local band Goodluck was performing. The restaurant's roof is covered in branches and greenery, which caught alight during the band's set. City of Johannesburg EMS spokesperson, Nana Radebe, said the first fire alert was received at 22h23 and two fire engines responded. "On arrival, the fire had been extinguished and no injuries or fatalities were reported. The cause of the fire was not investigated as the fire was extinguished by the people from the building," Radebe said.
Police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said police opened an inquiry docket. "The cause of the fire cannot be confirmed at this stage. We are still waiting for a report from fire fighters and forensic services." Ameera Jappie, who was there, said the fire started when the ceiling, which is made from artificial grass, caught alight from sparks from party flares. “It was chaos. It was really bad, everything caught alight so fast,” she said. The local eatery issued a notice on its Instagram page, saying, “We would like to inform everyone that there has been an unfortunate event tonight at The Greenhouse and that everyone is safe and OK. We would like to thank the heroes and emergency services who helped us tonight.” Jappie said she, her sister and cousin were sitting outside the eatery as it was packed with no tables available inside. “Everyone was having a ‘lekker jol’, dancing, drinking and all. My sister had gone to the toilet just before. At about 10.30pm, I think there was a live performance happening and suddenly everyone got quiet. We stood up and looked behind and inside. There was a small flame that had started. People were trying to put it out and the music had stopped. Everyone was still standing for a while until the fire started getting very wild. It started spreading, people started running towards the entrance. At this point, people are jumping over the furniture, everybody is in panic mode, it was chaos.” Jappie said she went into panic mode when she realised her sister, Nasreen Wells, was still in the toilet. “I ran inside the club and people were pushing me out because everyone was trying to get out. I told the bouncer that my sister was still in the toilet. Everybody was screaming and saying, 'get out',” she said. She added that they later found her sister outside as she had used the toilet at the mall. “There were people trying to break down the door that led to the bathrooms because there were people stuck inside. It was really bad, people were coughing. I am sure there are lots of people who suffered from smoke inhalation last night,” Jappie said. Videos started circulating on social media almost immediately. Sources: Times Live, News 24 |
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