‘Hotel fire started in 2 rooms hosting a party’

The massive fire that destroyed large parts of the iconic Mahikeng hotel started inside two rooms that were apparently hosting a party on the same night that the blaze broke out.

This is according to at least five firefighters who said on Thursday that Mmabatho Palms hotel staff who were on duty told them the party was held to celebrate the election of North West premier Bushy Maape.

Maape was elected on Tuesday to succeed Job Mokgoro as head of the government in the province.

“There were so many bottles of alcohol in those rooms. And they had burnt more than other rooms,” said one firefighter. “We were told by hotel staff that a party was held in those rooms by people who were celebrating Maape's new role.”

The raging fire, whose cause is still under investigation, broke out at about 1am at the hotel according to one guest, deputy minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development Rosemary Nokuzola Capa, who had also attended Maape's election at the legislature.

Capa complained about the lack of a fire alert at the hotel. She said there were no sprinklers, sirens and no-one directing guests to assembly points for safety.

But Mahikeng local municipality spokesperson Johnny Nkoane said firefighters stationed about 4km from the hotel were called at 3.47am and they arrived at 3.55am to stop the blaze.

Another firefighter said no-one called the fire station's control room until at 3.47am, leading them to question why it took so long if the fire began at 1am as Capa said. He, however, confirmed that the hotel did not have emergency alarms or fire detectors working on the day.

“There was no way we could fail to control that fire. We could have killed it if we were called in time,” he said. “The hotel does not have a firewall, hence the fire could spread that easily. It also does not have water sprinklers.

“That blaze made a huge light, there is a petrol station next to it. How can no-one see that it was burning, no one called the fire station until our control room received a call. If the fire started at 1am and was reported immediately, it could have been controlled. there was no way that we would fail to save that hotel. The thing is, we were told late about the fire.”

A second firefighter said the inferno was raging faster on the second floor of the building due to lack of firewalls. She said what made the situation worse was lack of equipment from firemen who responded. She said the hotel should be taken to task for non-compliance with fire safety requirements.

“You cannot control the fire in a big hotel with seven personnel and two trucks,” she said.

Peermont casino and resort CEO Nigel Atherton said the question on whether the hotel had fire detectors was going to be part of the investigation.

The firefighters further told Sowetan that seven firefighters including interns on contracts were dispatched to the scene in two trucks only because three other trucks have gone for repairs.

“It's risky to work here, but because we have a passion to help people we just do it. It was unfortunate when it comes to the hotel because most interns were not taken in as a back-up,” he said.

A third firefighter said when they arrived at the scene they began the search and rescue, looking for people but found that everybody was out of their rooms when they arrived. “The question then is how can a building burn up to that point while the fire station was just five minutes away?”

He said the hotel's head of the security told him there were reduced staff on duty on the night.

Nkoane said he was not available for an interview and asked Sowetan to call and check his availability next week.