Flagstaff – A fire at Holy Cross Hospital in Flagstaff, Eastern Cape, destroyed at least 10 park houses, where as many as 40 healthcare workers were accommodated.
The Eastern Cape Department of Health said no casualties were reported in the fire at the hospital on Saturday.
Workers escaped with only the clothes on their backs. All their belongings were destroyed in the fire.
The department said it was making arrangements to accommodate the affected workers.
In another incident on Saturday, the Dutywa Community Health Centre – a hospital in Mbhashe Local Municipality, an incinerator room was burned to the ground.
The fire started at about 10.30 outside the facility before it spread to the healthcare facility.
No one was injured.
Mbhashe Local Municipality Mayor Samkelo Janda said security guards, healthcare workers, and residents seeking medical attention assisted in putting out the fire.
They used fire extinguishers and buckets filled with water to extinguish the fire.
Eastern Cape MEC for Health Ntandokazi Capa said even though the facility remains open and operational, patients were transferred to Butterworth Hospital.
“We are grateful to everyone who played a part in containing the fires. We are happy that no one was injured or worse,” said MEC Capa.
“Although we are a department with budgetary constraints, infrastructure can always be replaced.
“We are making a call to our people to be wary of fires as the consequences can be dire.”
MEC Capa said the department will assess and quantify the extent of the damages caused by the two fires.
