A mother of three children from Padpark Street in Sastripark was heating water in an ‘electrical bucket’ when the handle broke. She and her one-year-old child suffered burns from the hot water. Speaking to Phoenix Tabloid, Sumaya Adam, 31, recounted how the horrific incident unfolded on 29 June, around 2pm. Adam said that the quick-thinking community intervened while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
Adam explained that there was a burst water pipe in the area recently. “When the water returned, the electricity mains tripped and the geyser stopped working. I used to boil water on the stove until my husband bought an ‘electrical bucket’ at a local supermarket for R90. It was an interim measure until we replaced the geyser. My husband is a mechanic and was unemployed for quite some time. The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown had an effect on my family and my husband only had piece jobs. He just got a new job recently.”
On the day of the incident, Adam was preparing water in the ‘electrical bucket’ for her son to bath. “I unplugged the bucket and intended carrying the hot water to the bathroom. As I picked up the bucket, the handle broke. The bucket fell sideways and the boiling water spilled onto my left side. I got burnt from the abdomen down to my knees.”
Adam says that she had left her one-year-old child to play in the lounge and she was not aware that the child had walked into the kitchen and was on the floor. The child was wearing bedroom shoes and got burnt on her toes. “I attended to the baby first. I pulled her warm shoes off, cut her pants and then attended to myself. I sent my elder daughter to call the neighbour. A family friend called a medical surgery for advice on how to cool down the burn. The women in the community put ice packs and ice cubes on the burns as we waited for the ambulance to arrive. At first the community were informed that an ambulance was on the way. After some time a second call was made. The community was informed that there was no ambulance available for a call-out. My neighbour who had come home to check on his house, heard what had happened and called Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA).”
Adam said that the ambulance arrived two hours later and she was taken to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital. “I don’t wish anyone to go through what we went through. Half a bucket of hot water caused such pain. I get relief when I take the medicine and I am in pain when the medicine wears off. I have to go to the hospital every second day for dressing. I am grateful for the help of my community, family and friends who assisted me,” she said.
Prem Balram of RUSA said that a woman and her one-year-old daughter suffered burns to their lower extremities after an urn used to boil water fell at their home on Padpark Place in Sastripark, on Tuesday.
“RUSA responded to the residence at approximately 2.34pm after receiving calls for medical assistance from the public. On arrival, the 31-year-old woman informed first responders that she had boiled water to take a bath. She was in the process of carrying the urn from the kitchen to the bathroom when the handle broke which resulted in the water falling on her. She suffered severe burns to both her legs. Her daughter was also in the kitchen at the time and suffered burns to her feet. The two were treated on-scene before being transported to hospital by ambulance.”
Umesh Singh, Chairperson of the Community Policing Forum, said that the bucket is a common practice for those who cannot afford geysers. “Residents need to exercise caution when using these buckets especially around children. There is no thermostat on the bucket that cuts off when the water heats. As the water overheats the bucket becomes flimsy and breaks. I would suggest that the hot water be decanted from the bucket,” said Singh.
