WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-12-16 Time: 11:00:10 Posted By: Jan
By Nompumelelo Magwaza
Warnings against use of faulty electricity and illegal power connections have been sounded after six people died in a fire at a KwaDukuza informal settlement yesterday.
The blaze broke out early in the morning, trapping six members of a family in their dwelling.
S’thembiso Thusi, 31, his partner Jabu Dube, 30, and her children S’bongiseni, 10, Talent, 6, Ntombazane, 3, and Owami, 7 months, died in the fire.
Police Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said preliminary investigations indicated that the family might have been asleep when the fire started.
“When I tried to open their door, the blaze had already spread – it was too late. Then I heard screams and people crying for help,” said Thusi’s neighbour, Hloniphile Msane.
Msane said her family were woken up by smoke and then she heard her neighbours calling for help.
“They said I should get water because there was a fire, but when I came back with a bucket filled with water and tried to open the door, it was too late.”
Msane said she lost all her belongings in the fire but saved her four children.
“What kind of Christmas are we going to have?” she asked.
Other residents said they heard explosions inside the Thusi home and tried unsuccessfully to save the family.
Samke Ngwenya said the blaze was too intense for them to go in and help.
“Everyone was here, but we could not help the people inside the house – it was too dangerous.”
Ballito fire department chief fire officer Adrian Barnes said many of the dwellings had already been destroyed when firefighters arrived at the scene.
“About 14 people were living in the cottages and eight of them managed to escape. At this stage we suspect that a faulty electrical appliance or an illegal electricity connection may have caused the fire.”
Barnes said the housing structures in the settlement were highly flammable.
“Most of the houses are built with wood, and that material catches fire quickly. I would advise people to use good building material for their houses.”
He said people should be careful and ensure that appliances not in use were unplugged, and that they refrained from using illegal connections.
Welfare MEC Meshack Radebe said his department would help with the funeral arrangements and would offer trauma counselling for the survivors.
nompumelelo.magwaza AT inl.co.za