On Saturday, a fire broke out at a hotel on Smith Street in the Durban CBD, resulting in a woman being taken to hospital due to smoke inhalation.
The hotel was evacuated, and according to a statement from eThekwini Municipality, the city’s fire and emergency crews responded to the fire in the morning.
The municipality said that upon arrival, the fire and emergency personnel located the floor where the fire started. Efforts were made to rescue and evacuate the occupants of the hotel as the smoke began to spread to other apartments.
After the fire was extinguished, affected floors were barricaded until structural engineers certify them to be safe for use. There were no fatalities reported.
An investigation is underway to establish the cause of the fire. Garrith Jamieson, the spokesperson for ALS Paramedics Medical Services, said that at around 9:30 a.m., paramedics responded to the hotel fire. Paramedics arrived at the scene where the Durban Fire Department and all necessary role-players were already in attendance.
One patient was brought out to the ambulance crew and was assessed by paramedics, who found that she had sustained moderate injuries as a result of the fire, including smoke inhalation. She was stabilised on the scene before being transported to a nearby hospital for the care she required.
»Fire breaks out at a hotel on Smith Street in the Durban CBD«
