Henley Studios was locked shut as fire fighters tried to gain access, while the out-of-control fire which started inside on Wednesday night just after 20:00 at the SABC raged out of control and flames destroyed the Isidingo set, burnt through cabling, and incinerating technical equipment worth tens of millions of rands.
The SABC says Henley Studios and Studio 6 where the blaze raged for more than 3 hours on Wednesday night and smoke plumed over the roof today, was locked after hours and that it took time to open the studio to gain access after the fire started.
Serious questions are now being raised over the building' safety with labour inspectors who have issued the SABC with an urgent prohibition order barring anyone from entering the charred area where smoke yesterday incapacitated even some experienced fire fighters battling the raging blaze.
"It was locked," says Sully Motsweni, the SABC's group executive responsible for risk and governance. "It did take a while for us to get the key and open and gain access to the studio fascility."
Sully Motsweni says "like any other asset that you would want to protect, especially the value of the contents that were inside that studio it was locked."
The SABC's chief operating officer (COO), Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who was on the site of the blaze, said "this is something we don't know how to handle, but I think we will get there". Hlaudi Motsoeneng said "as SABC we're very shock. We're not expecting this. As you know, I mean,
financially, we are not sound."
