Cape Town - A man and a woman died and two homes were destroyed in an early morning fire in Woodlands, Mitchells Plain today.
Spokesperson for the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service, Jermaine Carelse, on Wednesday said that they received the emergency call at 12.26am about a fire in Sandury Road.
“When firefighters arrived, they found informal structures on fire but managed to contain and extinguish the blaze by 1:42am. Two Wendy houses were destroyed and a motor vehicle damaged in the fire,” Carelse said.
“The bodies of the man and woman were found in one of the structures. Fire Service medics declared them deceased and the scene was handed over to the South African Police Service.”
Recently, Fire and Rescue Service reminded the public that as temperatures start dropping in the run-up to winter, it is important for residents to be fire-wise at all times.
Between May and August last year, the Fire Service received just over 6 000 calls, of which:
- 42% were special service calls like motor vehicle accidents, trauma incidents etc.
- 28% were rubbish or vegetation fires
- 10% were informal residential fires
- 9% were formal residential fires
Some of the main causes of fires are electrical faults, children playing with matches, flues not cleaned before the winter months, illegal electrical connections, grease fires, suspected arson and smoking material igniting combustible material.
In the event of a fire, residents should contact the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialling 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a cell phone.
The City said it is important to provide the exact location of the incident and a contact number in the event that the operator needs to contact you.
Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH) has also revealed that over 1000 children are treated at the hospital every year for a variety of burns injuries, including hot water or liquid burns, contact burns and flame burns.
The hospital, which is the tertiary referral centre for Paediatric Burns in the Western Cape, has already recorded 16 patients admitted with flame burns of 25% or greater over their total body surface area between 01 January 2020 and 31 March 2021.
Five of these injuries were directly due to unsupervised children playing with either matches or lighters.
Two of these injuries resulted when children were near open flames that had accelerants (petrol, lighter fluid, paraffin etc) thrown onto them in attempts to revive a failing fire.
One child was severely burnt when a paraffin heater was knocked over while playing.
Dr Gary Dos Passos, head of burns unit at the RCWMCH and Exco member of the Burn Society of South Africa, said that flame burns are devastating injuries with substantial lifelong physical and psychosocial consequences for the affected survivors and their families.
“Burn injuries increase dramatically during the winter months and caregivers need to be extra careful to ensure the safety of their children,” said Dos Passos.
The other eight children were burnt in uncontrolled fires, mostly in informal dwellings. Several siblings and parents were lost in these fires.
“While two of the 16 children are sadly no longer with us, the other 14 will bear lifelong reminders of their ordeal. Don’t let the same fate affect your loved ones, and stay safe,” Dos Passos implores.
As the winter months approach, the use of candles, paraffin stoves and open fires increase, placing children at even greater risk.
For burns prevention and safety tips, please visit https://www.childsafe.org.za/burns.html