The Star reports that according to Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), the deaths last week of three firefighters at the Bank of Lisbon Building in central Johannesburg could have been avoided.
Vavi was amongst hundreds of mourners who gathered at Ellis Park Arena on Wednesday for the official memorial service for the fallen heroes. Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba was also one of the many who attended the ceremony. Simphiwe Moropane, Mduduzi Ndlovu and Khathutshelo Muedi died at the building after having been dispatched there as a result of a fire on the 23rd floor. “What is making us angry is that this thing shouldn’t have happened. The building didn’t have fire extinguishers. How can people work in such a building? We are going to sue them,” Vavi said. The commemoration event started with a wreath-laying ceremony outside the building that claimed the men's lives. Family members of the late firefighters also attended, with some crying for their loved ones. Photos of the firefighters were placed next to the stage with candles and their colleagues celebrated them in song.
- Read this short report by Sthembiso Sithole at The Star
- Read too, He told me he was going to die, fiancé of firefighter killed in JHB blaze laments, at News24
- And also, Joburg firefighters lay wreaths on Wednesday to remember fallen colleagues, at The Star
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page