‘We heard their screams but fire spread too quickly’
Shocked neighbours heard screams and saw flames, but were unable to help the six people who died killed in a house fire in Bonteheuwel.
|||Cape Town - Six people, including four children, were killed in a blaze that swept through a large house in Bonteheuwel early on Wednesday morning.
Shocked neighbours heard screams and saw flames, but were unable to help because the fire spread quickly.
City Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Liezl Moodie said the blaze broke out in a house in Netreg Street in Bonteheuwel
“Two adult females and four minor males died as a result of fatal wounds,” said Moodie. “Six other people were left displaced and the cause of the fire was not yet determined.”
The dead are understood to be two sisters, their three children and their nephew. Their mother survived and is in hospital.
On Wednesday morning, neighbours were still gathered outside the burnt property and expressed shock at the incident.
A neighbour, Viola Mitchell, who lives in the semi-detached house next door to the house, said her family was woken up by screams.
“We were sleeping and then we heard screams. When we got out we saw flames coming from next door. A man was kicking down the door. Within minutes the door was down and the homeowner came out running.
“We also screamed for help and people started coming in to help throw water onto the fire, but the flames were spreading rapidly,” said Mitchell.
She said that residents tried their best to break windows and burglar bars to rescue some of the people inside, but to no avail.
“Everyone was worried and trying their best to put out the fire. People continued pouring water until the fire brigade came,” she said.
Robert Daniels, Emergency Services spokesman, said one survivor was rushed to New Somerset Hospital for treatment with burn wounds. He said his unit was still being fed information as police had still not cleared the scene by about 8am.
The four-roomed house was cordoned off and all the furniture and beds inside looked badly charred. Officials from the various provincial government departments, such as the department of Social Development, arrived on Wednesday morning to gather information. It is believed that the fire was started by a candle, however authorities could not confirm this.
The fire is the second tragic blaze in the city to claim the lives of children this week. On Monday, two siblings were killed in a shack fire in Fisantekraal.
One-year-old Jayden Fransman and his sister Javeen Fransman, aged three, were killed in the fire that destroyed their home in Goedverwacht, Fisantekraal, on Sunday night.
Their mother Antoinette Fransman, 36, and two siblings Lee-Anne Fransman and Ashwyn Fransman, aged 11 and 7, sustained burn injuries and were rushed to hospital for medical treatment.
zodidi.dano@inl.co.za
Cape Argus