The Gauteng Department of Health can confirm that a fire broke out at Steve Biko Academic Hospital (SBAH) in the early hours of this morning (30 May 2022).

The fire which affected temporary structures at the facility was successfully put out by the SBAH hospital team, using the fire extinguishers on site. Thankfully, there were no patients or staff casualties.

Eighteen patients and one corpse that were in separate temporary structures close to where the fire broke out had to be moved to other areas of the hospital as a safety precaution.

The fire broke out around 01h20 at the Wendy house used as a temporary storage area for COVID-19 medical waste and an in-transit corpse area.

It also affected a special temporary isolation unit and a tent used for triage.

The affected structures were located outside the casualty area of the hospital.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage.

Issued by Kwara Kekana, Spokesperson: Gauteng MEC for Health, 30 May 2022