Several items of linen were burnt when another fire broke out at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Tshwane on Sunday evening.
The blaze, which is the second at the hospital in two weeks, is believed to have started in a linen closet in a medical ward on Sunday evening.
The previous fire saw more than a dozen patients and a corpse evacuated from separate temporary structure.
It started in an area known as the Wendy house, which is used as a storage area for Covid-19 medical waste and as an in-transit corpse area two weeks ago.
Gauteng Department of Health spokesperson Kwara Kekana said they believe the latest fire could have been caused by a cigarette.
“While the definite cause of the fire is unknown, the facility has confirmed that a number of fresh cigarette butts were found close to the area where the fire started.
“Patients were temporarily evacuated as a safety precaution. The fire was quickly extinguished by staff in the facility and by 8:15pm, patients were returned to the ward.”
