Ga-Rankuwa man dies in fire
Eyewitness claims fire crews took up to an hour to respond by which time neighbours have already doused the fire.
A Ga-Rankuwa zone 4 man died when the outside room where he was sleeping caught fire on Sunday morning.
Fire victim Benito Ntsala’s family was in the main house when the fire started.
According to an eyewitness, who wanted to remain anonymous, it was 02:47 when he was woken up by people’s screams.
“I saw through the window that a room was burning and flames coming out the window.”
He said people tried to douse the fire using buckets of water but they couldn’t save Ntsala.
He said Ntsala had gone out with his friends and came home late.
The eyewitness said the emergency services only came about 45 minutes to an hour after they were called, by which time the fire has already been doused by community members.
Tumelo Molapo, one of Ntsala’s friends, said he was with him at around 20:30 when he went to buy cigarettes.
“He then left to buy alcohol and went home later around 23:00.
“When I came back around 02:30 with my friends, we saw flames and that’s when we woke up the neighbours.”
Molapo suspected the fire was caused by a lit cigarette.
He said Ntsala loved jokes and people.
“He would always chill with us in the carwash buying alcohol and cigarettes.”
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Charles Mabaso said they received a notification call at approximately 02:49.
Mabaso said that the house already burnt down upon the fire crew’s arrival.
According to him, the fire crews had to be linked back to the caller for directions because they were struggling to find the place.
Mabaso said the caller informed them that the fire had already been extinguished and that a man’s body was found in the building.
“While on the way to the incident, the fire crews also came across a vehicle accident that they had to report.
“So I acknowledge the delay in response.
“The fire crews proceeded to the place. When they arrived, they continued with the cooling down of the fire or hotspots,” he said.
The SAPS as well as pathology services were there.
Mabaso said the scene was handed over to the SAPS.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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