About 120 children were affected by the closure of three illegal crèches in central Johannesburg on Tuesday morning, the city’s metro police said.
Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said the crèches were shut down for not complying with fire-safety requirements.
Police expected to close another four crèches during the day.
The three closed by 8.15am were Hollywood Centre on Wanderers Street, Help Us Daycare on De Villiers Street, and Grace, also on De Villiers Street.
About 15 children from Help Us Daycare had to wait outside the crèche while police arranged for them to be sent home.
Minnaar said the crèches were ordered to close down on December 1 2004, as they did not have hose reels, fire escapes or fire extinguishers.
”On two previous occasions, emergency management services had to rescue children from the same crèche on the corner of Wolmarans and Twist streets, because of a fire,” Minnaar said.
The closure of the crèches is part of Operation Token Days, aimed at enforcing the city’s by-law requirements.
Last year, fire-safety audits found that most crèches in the area did not meet basic fire-safety requirements.
The findings come in the wake of the devastating fire at an inner-city block of flats in November 2004 when 66 young children and 18 adults had to be saved. — Sapa