Pretoria - Eight people had to be treated by the Tshwane Emergency Services for smoke inhalation after a group of five attempted to set fire to the Legal Practice Council building behind the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, yesterday.
Spokesperson for Tshwane Emergency Services Charles Mabaso said the fire broke out at the Procforum Building, which houses the Legal Practice Council offices in the central city, at about 8.20am.
Mabaso said firefighters arrived to find part of the building alight, with heavy smoke coming out of multiple floors and some occupants reportedly still trapped between the first and third floors.
According to Mabaso, six offices, two each on the ground, first and third floors of the building, were found to be on fire.
However, firefighters managed to get the blaze under control and extinguished it while ensuring all occupants were safely evacuated.
Emergency medical practitioners treated eight patients on the scene, while two people the security officers at the building suspected of being arsonists were treated for minor injuries and taken to hospital.
One other patient was treated for smoke inhalation and taken to hospital, while a fourth was treated for smoke inhalation and released on scene.
Mabaso said the Gauteng Emergency Medical Services assessed a further four patients and released them on scene too.
“Only the six offices suffered fire damage and parts of the three floors suffered smoke and water damage. Firefighters had to conduct positive ventilation to get rid of excessive smoke from the building after which the scene was handed over to the SAPS for further investigation.”
Legal Practice Council spokesperson Kabelo Letebele said one person was arrested following the fire outbreak.
Letebele said according to the information, five people went in to meet one of the legal officers, and after that meeting, they started to ransack the place and attack the official.
He said one of the members was in possession of what was believed to be a petrol bomb, which led to the fire.
Letebele said the fire was contained to the offices’ consulting rooms and no extensive damage to files or building infrastructure was reported.
He said the group, suspected to be family members, had a case with the legal watchdog.
“We can confirm that a group of five members of the public visited our office and met with one of our legal officers. It appears that after consulting with the representative, they started to assault a member of staff and set the office on fire,” said Johan van Staden, Gauteng provincial director.
“The police arrested one person on suspicion of arson and assault. We can also confirm that the fire affected only one office in which we consult with members of the public.
“There were no serious injuries and two staff members were sent to hospital for observation.”
Pretoria News