Fire Erupts at SARS Building in Johannesburg: Concerns Over Stored Files

The fire at the SARS building in Johannesburg has raised concerns over the stored files. Questions are arising following the blaze that broke out in the basement of the South African Revenue Service building on Rissik Street. The incident, which occurred shortly after midday, has left many wondering about the nature of the files stored in the affected area and whether they were digitally preserved, according to EWN.

An employee at the scene informed Eyewitness News that the basement was typically for storing hard-copy files and records. Nathaniel Mabetwa, the SARS Gauteng regional director, expressed optimism that no files were destroyed, stating, “We’ve got enough records that are actually digitised, so we don’t necessarily have the paper-based approach that we used to have.”

However, another SARS employee, who wished to remain anonymous, voiced uncertainty regarding whether there were documents in the archives at the time of the fire.

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Eyewitness Sweetness Chiya, present during the evacuation, reported that they received information that the fire originated in the basement. “They say the fire started in the basement where they store a lot of the files, but we don’t know how the fire started,” Chiya mentioned.

Sbonelo Ngubo was also in the building during the incident. He speculated that the generator might have played a role in the fire. “The smoke was coming from underground where there is the generator. Things started from the generator systems,” said Ngubo.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are underway to clarify this incident.

Also read:

Another Blaze Erupts in Johannesburg CBD – Firefighters Evacuate SARS Building

Picture: X / NkosinathiShazi

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