Family of three perishes in shack fire
The neighbours were awakened by screams of the father and his two children screaming for help inside the burning shack.
A 47-year-old father and his two children, aged six and nine, burnt beyond recognition when their shack at Transit Camp informal settlement, Mamelodi East extension 18, caught alight on Wednesday.
Neighbours were awoken by screams of the father and his two children for help from inside the burning shack.
According to a neighbour, David Mabunda everyone woke up and were running around with water buckets trying to put the fire out.
He said the fire was too strong. “We were struggling for water as we had to walk long distances to get some.
“The fire started around 01:20 and by the time the Tshwane emergency services arrived on the scene, the fire had already taken the lives of the three,” said Mabunda.
He said the family was trapped inside the shack screaming for help and “we were communicating with the father to at least find a corner to hide while we were trying to open the shack”.
Mabunda said communication ended when “we heard a loud bang of something exploding inside the shack”.
Nobody knows the cause of the fire, but the residents blamed the shortage of water in the area claiming they could have saved the three.
Mabunda said the mother of the two children was at work when the accident occurred.
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Charles Mabaso said emergency services responded to the fire.
He said it was reported the fire started at approximately 01:35 on Wednesday.
Mabaso said when the firefighters arrived on the scene, the dwelling had completely burned down.
“Members of the public reported that three people were believed to be inside the dwelling,” said Mabaso.
He said three bodies were discovered burnt beyond recognition after the fire was put out.
Mabaso appealed to residents to place candles in a safe candleholder, never overload electrical plugs, never leave a coal fire burning overnight without supervision, and put off or place any heating sources away from combustible materials before going to sleep.
He said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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