A Verulam family is still reeling in shock after emergency services had to dig out the charged remains of their loved one who perished in a house fire, in Phase 6 Waterloo, on Sunday morning.
The 38-year-old man, whose cause of death has yet to be confirmed, was the only person who was injured or died in the incident. KwaZulu-Natal SAPS spokesperson, Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo, said: “The fire was extinguished by the fire fighters and a 38-year-old man and declared dead on scene. The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated.”
According to first responders, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) members who were also dispatched to the scene after receiving multiple calls for assistance from residents in the area, there was more than one house fire when they arrived on scene. RUSA spokesperson, Prem Balram said: “On arrival, Reaction Officers found that several homes on one property were engulfed in flames. Residents were attempting to extinguish the fire with buckets of water. The eThekwini Fire and Rescue Services arrived shortly after and battled the blaze. The charred remains of a man was discovered amongst the debris.”
Balram said according to the brother of the deceased, he was asleep in the main building when his wife alerted him to the fire. “As he exited the main building he found his tenants salvaging valuables from several single room make shift homes situated in the property. The fire spread rapidly through the rest of the buildings while the deceased was still on the inside of one of the wood and iron homes. The main building was also extensively damaged in the fire. Circumstances surrounding the cause of the fire were not immediately established,” added Balram.
Ward 106 councillor, Johnson Chetty, said: “There’s a proliferation of shacks in close proximity to formal RDP homes in Waterloo. This situation is as a result of the acute shortage of housing for the indigent. It’s also common knowledge that landlords are actively involved in the development of shacks on their property so that they get rent income. I have written to the relevant officials in council to do an oversight on these illegal developments. However, my requests have fallen on deaf ears since I never get the response I expected. Unless council exercises it’s rights to reduce shack development, this kind of tragedy will be inevitable.”
