Police probe deadly house fire

Honeydew Police spokesperson Captain Balan Muthan confirmed the opening of an inquest docket following the tragic passing of an elderly man on a property in Radiokop on Thursday, 29 October.

Neighbouring residents on Echo Street alerted local emergency services after they had noticed mysterious smoke coming from the property that morning.

Prior to the arrival of ER24, local security provider EC Security was dispatched to the premises to investigate the matter and douse the fire.

The EC Response Account Manager, Miguel Boaventura told the Northsider that on arrival, some of his colleagues were already on the premises trying to break a window to let the smoke out. “From there we managed to break a side window to gain access to the house where we found the couch on fire. The man who had died was also found in the kitchen,” he said.

ER24’s Russel Meiring whose paramedics arrived after the fire had been extinguished, said nothing could be done for the victim and he was declared dead on the scene.

The man, said be in his 60s, was reported to have been found lying in the kitchen area, apparently attempting to exit the house. However, since being confined into a wheelchair, he apparently was met with difficulties while trying to escape.

Boaventura reported that the fire broke out in the early hours of the morning, and the man died not because of severe burns, but of smoke inhalation.

“The cause of the fire is speculated to have been an electrical fault which caused the couch to catch fire,” he said.

He added that the much older woman who shared the premises with the victim fortunately was not in the house during the ordeal.

This is a developing story.