M1 highway fire: 'Fire contained, some areas without power'
City Power suspects the fire may have been sparked by vandals.
An underground fire raging along the M1 Highway in the Johannesburg CBD on 1 May 2024. Picture: X/CityofJoburgEMS
John Perlman spoke to EMS spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi and City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena.
Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.
The fire on the M1 highway in Johannesburg has been contained.
Firefighters have spent hours fighting the blaze that broke out in the tunnels under the M1 double-decker section on Wednesday morning.
Mulaudzi is confident that by midnight the fire will be completely extinguished.
"We are just making sure that we extinguish all the hot spots along the tunnel."
- Robert Mulaudzi, EMS spokesperson
The fire, believed to be caused by theft and vandalism, has left parts of Johannesburg without power as two of the city's substations have been affected.
"Not so long ago we had a similar fire incident in the inner city which left people without power. So, we think it might be the same situation where maybe people were tampering with those cables underground and in the process, it might have caused the fire, but that investigation will be conducted as soon as we are done with this firefighting operation."
- Robert Mulaudzi, EMS spokesperson
"Most people within Braamfontein, parts of the CBD - especially towards Bree taxi rank, Newtown, Fordsburg are currently without electricity because of this fire."
- Isaac Mangena, City Power spokesperson
Residents are being encouraged to report issues of vandalism so that incidents like these can be avoided.
Meanwhile, motorists are urged to use alternative routes until further notice.
Scroll up to listen to the full interview.