The official residence of the Free State Premier, Mxolisi Dukwana, has been damaged in a fire that started on Thursday morning. The Mangaung Emergency Medical Services and Fire Brigade were first on the scene to put out the fire. But a little too late, with the first floor severely damaged and the roof caved in.
Premier spokesperson, Sello Dithebe says the cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
“Nobody has been injured. But we do want to confirm that the building being a heritage resource had very essential valuables in furniture and paintwork and stuff like that. And we would obviously have to get heritage architects to really construct the building so to speak. But we are very happy that no one has been injured,” says Dithebe.
Dithebe says at the time of the incident, the house was unoccupied.
“The official residence of the Premier, one of the main houses caught fire that we can confirm. The police are currently on site doing their forensics, but we would like to also happily thank the Mangaung Metropolitan municipality who responded swiftly with fire engines. They have successfully put out the fire so that the police can go on with their work,” Dithebe elaborates.
Mangaung municipal spokesperson, Qondile Khedama says the structure of the house is badly damaged.
“But what we had picked up is the structure was already damaged. So the issues of structural defects and so would be dealt with by Public Works. But as things stands, we only deal with what we call dumping to deal with all those flames that are hidden. But generally, the fire has subsided, and the situation is calmer,” Khedama explains.
Investigations are under way to determine the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage.
VIDEO: FS Premier’s official residence on fire:
