“Fire Ops teams were dispatched at approximately 09:00, where they encountered an intense blaze inside a container housing two 300kWh lithium-ion battery racks,” said Koekemoer. “Despite nearly two hours of conventional firefighting methods, the fire continued to escalate — a behaviour typical of lithium-ion thermal runaway.”

The fire destroyed the structure that has recently undergone renovations worth over R1-million.

Johannesburg’s beloved Zoo Lake Bowls Club has been left in ruins after a fire tore through the century-old landmark in the early hours of Wednesday morning.