Winterveldt man dies in a shack fire
Locals say the police took more than two hours to arrive even though the scene was only 400-500 metres from the police station.
Police are investigating after a man was found burnt to death in a shack fire in Winterveldt on Tuesday evening.
A friend had earlier dropped the man off from a local tavern, according to Loate police spokesperson Martin Maphoso.
Maphoso said investigations were still ongoing to determine what might have caused the fire.
“His friend left after dropping him off, so we are not sure what started the fire because he was alone inside the shack.”
Maphoso said the man’s friend heard from community members that there was a fire at the shack.
“When he rushed to the scene, the shack was already engulfed by fire and that is when the police and ambulances were called to the scene.”
Residents claimed the police took more than two hours to arrive even though the scene was only 400-500 metres from the police station.
Community activist and EFF ward 9 chairperson Calvin Makgeru said community members tried to extinguish the fire themselves but could not save the man’s life.
“The fire started at 22:15 but the police and firefighters only arrived at 00:10.
“When I asked the police why they were so late, they said they are the only ones working at night and there was only one van at the station and officers were busy elsewhere at the time.”
“There was only one vehicle for the whole of Winterveldt.”
He said that people should phone ambulances and the fire department themselves rather than wait for the police to call them when they arrived.
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