Johannesburg Firefighters

(Our_DA / Twitter)

Johannesburg firefighters given rousing, emotional send-off at memorial [video]

A hero’s welcome is what these Johannesburg firefighters deserved, and they got a beautiful service to commemorate their bravery.

Johannesburg Firefighters

(Our_DA / Twitter)

The three Johannesburg firefighters who lost their lives tackling a blaze in the CBD last week have been given an emphatic memorial at Ellis Park on Wednesday.

Mayor Herman Mashaba was among the political heavyweights paying tribute to #JoburgsBravest, and he laid a wreath for the courageous trio that were killed in the line of duty. He went on to deliver the keynote speech at the service, praising their selfless efforts.

The fallen firefighters were Simphiwe Moropane, 28, Mduduzi Ndlovu, 40, and Khathutshelo Muedi, 37. One firefighter died after slipping out the window and falling to his death, the other was burnt while the third died of smoke inhalation.

Their sacrifice came at the expense of dozens of employees who occupied the upper stories of the building. The inferno began last Wednesday morning and smouldered right through until the end of the week. Miraculously, no workers at the Bank of Lisbon offices were seriously harmed.

Watch the Johannesburg firefighters memorial tributes here: