by SAMKELO MTSHALI
Durban - The heartbroken older brother of one of the boys who died in Thursday's fire at a Durban children’s home has told how he had come to fetch his brother the day before, but had been unable to take him home.
Fikisani Chala, 8, was one of eight children who lost their lives in the early morning blaze at the Lakehaven Child and Youth Care Centre.
Speaking to the Daily News on Thursday after visiting the burnt-out cottage where his brother died, Vumani Chala recalled the tragic chain of events of the past two days.
Vumani, 28, from KwaMachi village near Harding, said he had come to the centre at Sea Cow Lake on Wednesday and had planned to take his brother home that day. But he was told he could not and must wait for the start of the school term.
Fikisani was in Grade 1.
Vumani returned to his village later on Wednesday.
With anguish etched on his face, Vumani said he had received a call from social workers at about 7am on Thursday, telling him Fikisani was dead.
He hurried back to Durban on Thursday.
“I still can’t believe this… I spent time with him before I returned to Harding, so I was not expecting to receive this news a short while later because he had wanted to leave with me.
“I had earlier promised him that I would fetch him, but the centre refused to allow him to go with me,” said Vumani.
“When I was about to leave he started crying, wanting to go home to Harding with me, but he wasn’t allowed to leave and the centre said they would arrange for him to go back to Harding when schools re-open, so he can get to attend school that side.”
Fikisani had previously been living with his mother in the Sea Cow Lake area.
Vumani said he had lost contact with his mother and brother, but after a struggle to find them, had located Fikisani at the centre.
The media were barred from entering the centre on Thursday. Minibus taxis took children and caregivers to a facility in Sherwood.
According to a security guard at the centre’s gate, the children and caregivers would spend the weekend at the William Clark Gardens Children’s Home, in Sherwood.
This was to give the authorities time and space to investigate the fire without any disturbances.
The children, who were traumatised, were expected to return on Monday.
In a letter to the public, Child Welfare Durban & District executive director, Shehnaaz Gabru, said it was an emotional time for children and staff at the centre.
“We appreciate all the support and condolences received to date.
“To our partners, the community and concerned individuals, keep us in your thoughts as we go through this tragically trying time. We appreciate the offers of support from organisations and individuals,” Gabru said.
Post-mortems would be conducted and DNA samples taken today at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Phoenix.
Police detectives face the daunting task of identifying the eight from their charred remains.
The fire started in Cottage 3, which was subdivided into 10 bedrooms. It had wooden floors.
Police found some of the bodies on beds, while other were on the floor, the beds presumably destroyed by the fire.
Two bodies were found on top of one another.
Police were unsure whether they had been shielding one another from the raging fire.
In one room two bodies were found; in another five; and one in a third room.
Police believe some may have died from smoke inhalation.
The fire department was also probing the cause of the fire and why it spread so rapidly.
A forensic team would continue searching for clues on Friday.
Police were awaiting the fire chief’s report.
A well-placed source said the cottage had recently been refurbished.
A police dog trained at sniffing out bodies combed the ruined cottage for any other bodies, body parts or limbs.
eThekwini Ward 34 councillor, Deochand Ganesh, said remedial measures must be taken to prevent such a disaster from happening again.
“If there is negligence, the necessary action must be taken.
“This is the first time an incident like this has happened in this area,” he said.
A teacher from Lakehaven Secondary School and a governing body member from Parlock Primary School arrived at the scene on Thursday to find out whether children from their schools were among those who had lost their lives in the blaze. But they were also denied entry and left without much information.
They were told to return on Friday, when more light would be shed on the tragedy.
Vrikash Sookdeo, Parlock Primary School governing body chairman, said that the way the children, who had been “battling in life”, died was unfair.
Sookdeo said having grown up in the area, not much had changed in the centre’s building and structures, safety and precautions in the past 30 years.
He said there had not been any upgrades in the building that would suggest it could capably deal with emergency situations, such as fire extinguishers or even fire detectors to quickly quell the danger of fires.
President Jacob Zuma has expressed his shock.