Zaden (2) unknowingly runs into burning flat
Approximately 35% of Zaden Green's (2) body was burned during a fire at his home in Ermelo Road, Strubenvale on Saturday.
Zaden ran to his parents’ flat to fetch his bottle and within seconds came running out “screaming at the top of his lungs”.
“The sound of screams alerted us to investigate and when we ran to our flat we saw smoke and flames coming from the front door,” says Henna Green (25), Zaden’s father.
Read: Springs man (26) burns to death
The toddler is currently in the intensive care unit the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
According to Henna they were visiting family, who live two flats away on the second floor of the block of flats.
His wife Caren Green (24) saw Zaden’s face and arm was burned and their immediate reaction was to get Zaden to a hospital.
“We phoned for an ambulance, but it took too long and we decided to take him to hospital ourselves,” say Henna.
Read: Treating burns? What you should know
It was when they were downstairs that they saw an ambulance driving past them.
“We called to the driver for help and he immediately turned around and helped us take our son to the Far East Rand Hospital (FERH),” he says.
Zaden was stabilised at FERH but because they don’t have a burn unit at the hospital, they transferred the toddler to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
“By the time the fire trucks arrived the fire had already destroyed everything we had.
“This includes our furniture, clothes, kitchenware and even our cellphones and laptops were melted,” says Henna.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Caren says they still don’t have answers to all their questions including the degree of burns on Zaden’s body and whether he is stable or not.
The couple hope they will receive answers to their questions from a doctor at the hospital once they visited their son on Monday afternoon.
No comment was received from the Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Services at the time of publishing.
