Durban: A 69-year-old partially blind Verulam woman was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation after she was rescued from her home which caught alight today.
Prem Balram, director of Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa), said it had received multiple calls from residents in Redcliffe, just before 11am, reporting the fire and the woman’s subsequent entrapment.
“On arrival, three Reaction Unit officers entered the residence and navigated through thick smoke until they located the woman lying on the floor of her en suite bathroom.
“Other officers attempted to remove the bedroom windows to assist with the extrication of the female however they were secured with burglar bars. After being removed from the residence. Medics treated her for smoke inhalation. She is currently in a stable condition.
Balram said firefighters were on scene. He said the cause of the fire had not yet been established.
In a separate incident, in November last year in the same area, a 53-year-old woman died after she was burnt in a fire at her home.
At the time, Balram said on arrival, a 34-year-old man said he had been asleep in the basement of the house when he heard his mother screaming for help.
“The woman’s body was discovered in her bedroom covered by a pile of debris.
He alleged that a paraffin lamp, used by the victim, was suspected to have been the cause of the fire.
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