A pensioner suffered a terrible ordeal and was seriously burnt when the shack in which he lives caught fire this week.
According to a neighbour, Mr Fako Setlai, he went to watch television with the owners of No.1641 in Khutsong at around 19:45 last Friday night. He also made a routine check-up on Mr William Modiakhotla (76), a pensioner who stays in a shack behind the house.
After about 30 to 45 minutes, he suddenly heard a noise behind the house.
He rushed out and saw Modiakhotla’s shack in flames.
“I heard him shouting, “Help me, help me,” and I pushed my arms through a cavity to try and get him out,” he told the Herald on Monday. Setlai pointed to a
small space under some of the corrugated iron sheets that once were Modiakhotla’s
home.
He started pulling Modiakhotla out of his burning shack but soon also collapsed
as a result of smoke inhalation. Other community members had to take over and pull them both to safety.
Both men were admitted to hospital and, by Monday, Setlai was fine, except for burns on his arm from when he tried to pull Modiakhotla from the flames. The latter was not so lucky, however.
Although it was still not clear how serious his condition was, Setlai remembers with horror how the skin had peeled off the old man’s arm when he tried to pull him to safety. The ambulance arrived at the scene after community members flagged
down a police van driving through the area.
Although there were very grateful for the help they got from the police and ambulance
services personnel, they were furious that the fire truck only got there three hours after the incident. By this time, the neighbours had already quenched the flames with buckets of water a long time ago.
“This is not the first time that someone has been burnt because the fire brigade arrived late and we are very unhappy about the situation. The problem is that
there are no fire trucks stationed here in Khutsong anymore,” complained Mr
Less Thumo of Tshirangwana Community Health Project.

This NGO helps pensioners like Modiakhotla with medical and other problems.
On Monday afternoon, Thumo held a community meeting with pensioners of the area to make them aware of the dangers of fires. He also wanted to implement a system where pensioners are given whistles to notify others when they were having problems.
“No one cares about the residents of Khutsong anymore. Someone has to
start looking after those who cannot help themselves,” he urged.
When questioned about its role in assisting in the event of a fire, the Merafong
City Local Municipality said fire and emergency services are neither its
competency nor its responsibility; both fall under the West Rand District Municipality.