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The mother of a toddler who died in a Pretoria tent fire is staying strong for her grieving children as the family prepares for a memorial.
Image for illustrative purposes. Picture: iStock
The mother of two-year-old Alejandro McGarry, who died last Tuesday in a tent fire, is staying strong for her other children who are only coming to terms with the tragedy.
Susan Radue said there were so many untrue stories making the rounds after little Ali, as his family affectionately called him, died after a candle burned down the tent they were sleeping in on a smallholding at Grootvlei Oos in Pretoria.
“He didn’t die in his camping cot and also not a gas explosion,” she said.
A heartbroken family
“We are coping as a family. We will hold a memorial on Friday to greet our Ali, we cannot bury him, because we need to have postmortem DNA tests done because his body was unrecognisable.”
Radue said her other children were heartbroken and she needed to keep them strong.
“The middle child, my 16-year-old, is a very strong child, but it’s like it only hit him today that his younger brother is not coming back. He went back to the scene and sat there for a while,” she said.
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Radue said besides having to find finances for the DNA tests, they also struggled with transport after their Toyota RAV4 keys were destroyed in the fire.
‘A house fire is fast, hot, dark and deadly’
AfriForum disaster management specialist Tarien Cooks said the dangers of house fires were becoming more common in the cold winter months.
“In the past few months, several lives have been lost in house fires. A house fire is fast, hot, dark and deadly,” she said.
“Smoke spreads faster than you think and most deaths in house fires are not from the flames, but from smoke inhalation.”
Another fire claims two-year-old’s life
The second fire last week in Tshwane claimed a two-year-old and a family of five.
City of Tshwane emergency services department spokesperson Lindsay Zwelithini Mnguni said: “On arrival, the firefighters found out that the fire had destroyed the four-roomed shack dwelling.
“Sadly, five family members, including a senior citizen, one adult and three minors, were fatally burned.”
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