Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) has urged people to be take extra precautions after a 26-year-old man died in a shack fire in Soweto.

EMS members responded to the blaze in the early hours of Tuesday morning at around 3am in Doornkop.

Spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said firefighters made the grim discovery while searching through the rubble.

“During a search-and-rescue operation, firefighters recovered a body of a 26-year-old man. He succumbed to smoke inhalation and was confirmed dead on scene. No other injuries were reported during this fire incident and the cause of the fire is still a subject of investigations.”

Shack fires

This is third shack fire in a matter of days after two separate fire incidents in George Goch and Kaya Sands

In the George Goch incident, three shacks caught fire on Saturday and after extinguishing the blaze, EMS firefighters discovered the body of a man who died from his burn wounds.

The fire in Kaya Sands on Sunday gutted 10 shacks. One person suffered burn wounds and was rushed to hospital.

Joburg EMS said the cause of both fire incidents is still under investigation by its inspectors.

ALSO READ: Joburg shack fires claims four lives, including that of a child

Precautions

As winter and the cold weather continues to grip the province and people try to keep warm, at least six people have died in separate shack fires across Gauteng.

Mulaudzi has urged residents, especially those living in informal settlements, to take precautions when using heating appliances.

“The City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services have already recorded a number of fire incidents this winter were lives were lost residents are encouraged to continue to look after all heating devices while in use and `not to leave them unattended so that we can prevent fire incidents at home.

“As part of our efforts to reduce fire incidents and fatalities this winter the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services Public Education Unit (Pier) will be conducting a door-to-door campaign at Msawawa informal settlement In Kya Sands,” Mulaudzi said.

ALSO READ: Brrr weather alert: Gauteng residents warned to brace for another cold front