JOHANNESBURG - Firefighter Wynand Engelbrecht is calling on municipalities to prioritise fire safety to prevent another uSindiso building tragedy. The commission looking into the fire that claimed the lives of 76 people resumed on Tuesday after it was postponed multiple times.

There is no national fire code in SA — all major cities and metro councils need to take cognisance of this fact’ The catastrophe at the Usindiso building in the Johannesburg CBD in 2023 that killed 77 people can be characterised as one of Africa’s deadliest fires. This was part of the testimony of Wynand Engelbrecht, chief fire officer at Fire Opps SA, who took to the stand on Wednesday at the commission of inquiry into the blaze.