Naked man survives Umlazi house fire

This was all that was left of the Macele family home in uMlazi after it went up in flames at the weekend. A 23-year-old man managed to escape naked through a window while another, 33, is currently in hospital after sustaining burns from the inferno. Picuture: Ladies House/Facebook

This was all that was left of the Macele family home in uMlazi after it went up in flames at the weekend. A 23-year-old man managed to escape naked through a window while another, 33, is currently in hospital after sustaining burns from the inferno. Picuture: Ladies House/Facebook

Published Aug 24, 2020

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Durban – An uMlazi man, 23, jumped out of a window naked from his bed after an electric fire broke out in the room he was sleeping in.

According to a relative Nosanda Macele, her uncle Ndumiso Macele had been asleep as the fire engulfed the house and was deaf to the noise of his nephew trying to break a window burglar guard to rescue him.

She said the fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday.

Macele, who lives in an outside room on the family property, said her uncle arrived home drunk at about 10pm on Friday and went to bed.

“My cousin Sphumelele told me he arrived about 1.30am and had been on his phone when he heard a bang like an electric fault. He went outside and checked the electricity pole, checked around the house but saw nothing. He said when he climbed into bed he saw electric sparks in the room he was in, the flame quickly rose to the roof where it came into contact with plastic, fuelling it. He broke the window and escaped,” said Macele.

She said Sphumelele came to her room asking for a bucket of water and said there was a fire in the house.

“I didn’t register what he said as I was half asleep. When he came a second time I walked out to see flames, that’s when I saw he was naked and I gave him a towel. We went to get help from neighbours after he told me that our uncle was still asleep inside. The room where the fire started was the only one in the house without a burglar guard so Sphumelele went looking for a hammer.”

Macele said they all stood as the inferno grew, with her uncle still asleep inside. When he eventually awoke choking from the smoke he was surrounded by the fire. He couldn’t exit the room he was in and his only hope was the burglar guard breaking.”

She said Sphumelele and his friend managed to break the bars and they pulled their uncle out.

“He didn’t have any visible burns on his face but his back was burnt. We had phoned for an ambulance but we decided to rush him in a private car, on the way we saw the ambulance. When we phoned the hospital yesterday the sister said it was too early for her to say what kind of condition he was in and we should phone in a day or two,” she said.

Macele said the fire had ravaged their family home and Sphumelele lost everything. She said firefighters worked on the fire for about two hours before it was out.

Daily News

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