Man dies after fire guts five shacks at informal settlement in Thembisa
· Citizen
A man in his forties was burnt to death when five shacks went up in flames at an informal settlement on the East Rand.
The blaze occurred at the Vusimuzi Informal Settlement in Thembisa on Sunday night, with firefighters battling to contain the blaze sparked by a suspected gas cylinder.
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Shack fire
Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) spokesperson spokesperson William Ntladi said the city’s disaster and emergency management services firefighters from Thembisa responded to the informal settlement immediately before 10pm.
“A crew of six firefighters responded out with one major pumper fire engine and immediately activated backup from Olifantsfontein fire station as the fire was reported to be spreading to other structures in the neighbourhood.
“On arrival, quick scene size up was done, fire ground operations initiated and flames contained and extinguished using one attack line,” Ntladi said.
Death
Ntladi added that the members of the public were found to contain the fire using the bucket bridge system, controlling the rate and magnitude of the blaze.
“One adult male was found to have sustained critical burn wounds and was declared dead on scene by paramedics. The structures are built in close proximity to each other, and the risk was very high for more others to be involved.
“Preliminary investigations lead to a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder, which was allegedly used from one of the burnt shacks to be the cause of the fire; however, an in-depth investigation is to be conducted by police and fire safety officers,” Ntladi said.
Family killed
Ntladi said the scene was handed over to the police officers for the scene rehabilitation and removal of the deceased to an appropriate forensic pathology facility.
Last week, four family members, including an elderly woman and twin toddlers, suffocated to death after a blaze engulfed their home.
The tragic incident occurred in the Bluegum section of Duduza in the City of Ekurhuleni.
Ntladi said firefighters from Duduza fire station responded to Sikelele Street in the Bluegum section for a house reported to be ablaze.