A fire broke out at the head office of communications regulator Icasa on Monday afternoon, causing damage to one of its office blocks.
An eyewitness said the fire, in Block A at the Pinmill Farm office park near the Grayston Drive intersection with the M1 highway in Sandton, appeared to have started after an air conditioning unit malfunctioned on Monday afternoon.
The eyewitness said the unit may have exploded, sparking the blaze.
The eyewitness, who asked not to be named, told TechCentral that the office that had caught alight housed Icasa’s licensing and device “type approval” records.
However, he said the authority had a backup of the records.
In a statement issued later on Monday, Icasa confirmed that a fire had broken out and had caused damage to Block A.
“The block houses the licensing, policy, research and analysis, the regions divisions as well as the Gauteng regional office,” the authority said.
“Investigations are continuing to determine the cause of the fire.”
Icasa said it takes the well-being of its employees seriously and ensured that all those who were affected were taken to hospital for observation.
“The extent of the damage to the building cannot be confirmed until the investigation has been completed. However, Icasa assures all its stakeholders that it has prioritised the matter and everything will be back to normal as soon as possible.”
The authority thanked the emergency services for a “speedy response in extinguishing the fire before it got out of control”.
Photos of the fire, taken by the eyewitness, follow below. — (c) 2016 NewsCentral Media
