Johannesburg – Another part of the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital has caught alight just days after another blaze was extinguished.
The Gauteng Department of Health on Wednesday, (23 April 2025), said: “Fire fighters from the City of Ekurhuleni’s Fire Department are currently on site attending to what looks like another fire incident at the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital’s main Out Patient Department.
“This area is adjacent to the Accident and Emergency Unit, which burned on Saturday night (19 April 2025).”
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Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demanded a “professional and swift investigation into the possibility of arson behind the two fires at the Tembisa Hospital”.
Jack Bloom, MPL and DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, said the demand for a probe into suspected arson “follows the second fire outbreak today at the Tembisa Hospital, which occurred after the fire that destroyed the Accident and Emergency (A & E) section over the weekend”.
Bloom added: “It is reportedly at the Outpatients’ Department, which is adjacent to the A & E building.
“Surely, these incidents are suspicious.
“We need to know whether the security services are doing their job in preventing incidents like this.
“Are there tenderpreneurs who want to get the contracts for rebuilding the burnt sections?”
Bloom said this suggestion could not be ruled out.
“We even have criminal syndicates who sabotage the water supply so they can benefit by providing water tankers,” Bloom said.
“Arson has been identified as the cause of the devastating fire at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital four years ago, but no one has been caught.
“Any foul play at Tembisa Hospital needs to be speedily identified and the culprits apprehended before further fires occur.”
Also commenting on the matter, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) expressed serious concern over the recurring fire outbreaks at Tembisa Hospital.
The first incident occurred on Saturday, (19 April 2025), with a second blaze erupting earlier today in close proximity to the already damaged sections of the facility.
The initial fire devastated the recently renovated Accident and Emergency Unit, destroying computer systems, patient files, and plunging the hospital into operational disarray.
Medical personnel were unable to efficiently attend to patients due to the chaos, compounded by compromised medical records.
“The possibility of arson in this recent fire demands a thorough investigation into the hospital’s operations and a crackdown on the corrupt networks still embedded within the system,” the EFF said.
The EFF said it has consistently sounded the alarm over the systematic targeting of public health institutions by criminal syndicates, hospitals in particular, as vehicles for looting public funds.
“These acts, often aided by the complicity and complacency of the ANC in Gauteng, have undermined the right to quality healthcare and endangered the lives of millions,” the EFF said.
“We cannot afford a repeat of the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital disaster, where arson led to devastating infrastructural damage, disruption of critical healthcare services, loss of lives, and destroyed careers, and yet no one was held accountable to this day.”
The EFF demanded that the Provincial Government immediately launch an independent and transparent investigation into the fires at Tembisa Hospital.
“The investigation must check safety compliance, including fire hydrants, extinguishers, and alarm systems,” the EFF said.
“It must also be established whether these incidents were due to foul play or neglect by the leadership.
“Those responsible must be exposed and brought to justice.
“We further support the call for the involvement of State Intelligence to get to the root of this matter and prevent future sabotage of our healthcare facilities.”
Update:
