An adult man has died in a fire that tore through The Dorchester, an apartment building in High Level Road, Sea Point, on Thursday afternoon, with firefighters remaining on the scene for several hours as they worked to extinguish the blaze.

According to Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse, emergency crews were alerted to the fire at approximately 3:30 pm after reports of a flat on the top floor of the building being alight.

Firefighters from several stations responded, with the Incident Management Team (IMT) Type 4 deployed to coordinate the operation.

The fire spread into the roof of the building, causing both the roof and a staircase to collapse.

Medical personnel attempted to resuscitate an adult man who lived on the top floor, but CPR efforts were unsuccessful. He was declared dead at 4:35 pm.

A number of firefighters were also injured during the operation, with the extent of their injuries unclear at this stage.

No other injuries have been reported, and the building was evacuated.

At 8 pm, Carelse said firefighters are using a turntable ladder to attack the flames, but the fire remains difficult to contain because it is burning within the roof void.

“The challenge is that the fire is in the roof void. Firefighters have to access the fire and systematically extinguish the blaze,” he said.

He added that crews were expected to remain on scene for a considerable time.

“The IMT Type 4 is managing the incident. This is still a very fluid situation and more information will be made available as it is verified.”

Just before 9 pm, the Ward Councillor Nicola Jowell posted on her Facebook page that the main section of the building had been extinguished, although firefighters were still working to bring the remaining fire on the side of the building under control.

She revealed that the resident who died in the building was an elderly man. She said that during the course of firefighting efforts, several more firefighters were injured.

The City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre has been activated to assist residents affected, while Jowell has thanked many community members who have offered accommodation, food, clothing and other assistance to those affected.

SAPS forensic services arrived on scene overnight to probe the cause of the fire, but there were several flare-ups of the fire preventing them from continuing. Another flare-up occurred on Friday morning.

By 9:30 am, the City’s Fire and Rescue Services announced they had isolated the flare-up at The Dorchester and suppressed it. They’ve also used a thermal imaging camera to check for any other hotspots.

Spokesperson Jermaine Carelse says one crew will remain on scene for the next few hours as a precaution. SAPS investigators, tasked with probing the incident, are also on the scene.