The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry, established to probe a deadly blaze that claimed the lives 76 people in Marshalltown in August, has had to adjourn indefinitely because the venue is too small.   

On Monday, commission chair Sisi Khampepe announced proceedings would be postponed after the City of Johannesburg's fire chiefs had served it with a notice of non-compliance.

Tshiamo Sedumedi, from MNS Attorneys which is representing the COJ at the commission, said the central issue was safety, and that the number of people attending proceedings had caused the problem. 

"The issue here is not the building, but the venue. It is too small for the number of people who are attending. The City is just enforcing its bylaws here," Sedumedi said.

According to Sedumedi, the City was concerned about the fact that there was only one fire escape at the venue.

"If there were less than 20 people in the venue, then there would be no problem, but because now there are more than 20 people in attendance, the safety standards must be complied with," he said.

On Monday, private fire fighting service providers were expected to give testimony as they were among the first responders at the deadly blaze. Wynand Engelbrecht from Fire Ops SA was expected to take the stand.

The commission, chaired by Khampepe, was established to look into the circumstances of the fire on 31 August and the prevalence of abandoned and hijacked buildings in the inner city.

She apologised and said that a new date and venue would be announced soon.