CAPE TOWN – Three children, aged five, nine and 12, died in a shack fire in Wallacedene on Youth Day. A fourth child sustained injuries and was admitted to hospital.
Spokesperson for the City Fire and Rescue Service, Jermaine Carelse, said they were alerted at about 6.26am that there were informal structures on fire in Pieterson Street.
“Crews from Kraaifontein and Brackenfell were dispatched. It was just after 7am that they found the bodies of the three children, a boy, a girl and one whose gender could not be confirmed.
“Three informal structures were destroyed. The cause of the fire, which was extinguished just after 8am, has not yet been determined. The scene was subsequently handed over to the South African Police Service,” he said.
Ward councillor Siviwe Nodliwa said the intense fire could be seen by neighbours.
“They went quickly to extinguish the fire. However, they were overwhelmed by the fire. This was until firefighters took control of the situation. The firefighters saw the (dead) bodies of three children inside the shack. One child managed to escape the fire with some injuries.
“It transpired that the parents were out to seek for something to put on the table. The office of the councillor seeks any form of donations to help the affected family,” he said.
Police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut, said that the circumstances surrounding the fire were under investigation.
“A 17-year-old boy sustained injuries and was admitted to hospital. The parents of the children were not at home when their residence caught fire. Death inquest case dockets have been opened,” he said.