Johannesburg - The last person who spoke to Michael Letsosa before he died in a fire that claimed his life and that of another firefighter was Sello Sello, who drove the fire truck.
Sello said his heart sank when he saw a call from the slain firefighter, who he thought was still fighting the blaze inside Nedbank Mall in Albertina Sisulu Street in the Joburg CBD.
“When I saw my phone ring and saw Letsosa’s number, I knew something was wrong inside. When that guy called me I could tell he had already given up, and when I spoke to him it was as though he was already gone. It was obvious that things were bad, but there was nothing I could do,” he said, shaking his head.
Sello was speaking to The Star outside the memorial service held for the two men in the Standard Bank Arena on Thursday. He had walked out after his speech, which had roused the many firefighters present.
“I was there when they died,” he had said on the podium, speaking of both Daniel Zwane and Letsosa.
“I felt guilty because I felt as though I had taken them to die. When he called me, he said: ‘I’m dying. My air is running out.’ I prayed that God could turn me into an angel so I could help him.”
Sello said a “crisis of conscience” nearly caused him to resign. “I wanted to resign but I know I can’t because I have to expose that something went wrong. Procedures weren’t followed.”
The sea of navy in the arena erupted, cheering for him and exclaiming “Bua!”, which means “speak”.
The service was marred by the anger of the uniformed firefighters present who booed each time Joburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesman Robert Mulaudzi walked past.
The defiance peaked when the officials stood up and turned their backs on EMS executive head Tshepo Makola as he tried to address the crowd.
Sello added: “I knew him for three years. In our shift the 10 of us were really close. He was such a quiet, sweet boy, but when we were sitting, just the two of us, he’d get chatty and talk about the kinds of things guys like.”
The Star