The commission of inquiry into the Usindiso building fire in Albert Street, Johannesburg, that claimed the lives of more than 70 people has heard evidence from emergency services personnel that the dilapidated, hijacked building was a "ticking time bomb". 

The inquiry into the on 31 August blaze began on Thursday with evidence from acting Johannesburg Emergency Medical Services chief Rapulane Monageng.

Justice Sisi Khampepe, who is chairing the inquiry, apologised after the proceedings started nearly one month late. While the commission was meant to sit at the beginning of the month, she explained that unavoidable administration issues led to the delay. 

Thursday's oral hearing dealt with Part A of the inquest: the fire and its cause. It saw a series of photographs that showed the internal and external structure and the non-compliance with fire and safety laws.

The building is under the authority of the Johannesburg Property Company and is owned by the City. It was illegally occupied and was referred to as a hijacked building. There were residents in the building who were paying unknown "landlords".

Monageng said in the years before the deadly fire, finding the owner of the building, even though it was known that the owner was the city, was difficult.

He said the City's Group Forensic Investigation Services was notified about the building in 2019 after residents chased inspecting EMS teams away. Monageng said this and other buildings were difficult to access because they took their lives into their own hands due to residents' hostility. He said two hijackers were fingered in an investigation into the building, but there is no case to speak of.

At the time of the fire, those who perished, died of smoke inhalation, heat, and the impact of jumping from the building.

Monageng testified that the building's internal makeshift structures added fuel to the fire and made exiting the flaming structure almost impossible.

He said the ground floor had been converted into a maze of 3x3m² shacks constructed from wooden boards, plywood, chipboard and plastics, which were highly flammable. He said 200 people were living on this floor. There was one door leading to the street, and it was locked at the time.

On the second and third floors, metal gates were constructed throughout the halls, closing off passages and rooms. Some rooms had space only for a mattress on the floor. The fourth floor had a door that opened onto a large balcony. Firefighters had to knock down a beam to open a constructed metal gate that trapped residents in the building.

He said residents converted the fire escape into housing with brick and mortar. The halls were built to accommodate people, leaving just enough space in corridors to fit people in a single file.

Bathrooms, which had no ventilation, were also turned into homes. He said smoke was more dangerous in this condition than the actual flames. And he described the darkness of passages lined with tripping hazards.

"There was a heap of waste burning [in a courtyard]. When we saw that, we knew we had a ticking time bomb in our hands – that heat could have caused a fire on its own," he said.

The commission continues after a tea break with further testimony from Monageng.