PICS: Family of five perish in Ekurhuleni shack fire, teen escapes
Five members of one family, including three children, died when a shack caught fire in the Steve Biko Informal Settlement in Etwatwa, Gauteng, late on Sunday night.
A teenage boy who had been sleeping in an outside room escaped unharmed.
Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) spokesperson William Ntladi said firefighters received an emergency call just before midnight.
“DEMS firefighters received a call close to around 12 pm on Sunday , for a well-alight shack at Steve Biko Informal Settlement, Etwatwa,” he said.
Fire crews from the Etwatwa Fire Station were first on the scene, supported by a backup team from Springs Central Fire Station.
“The primary responding team found a five-roomed shack (three bedrooms, kitchen, and dining room) engulfed by flames with entrapment on their arrival,” Ntladi added.
According to Ntladi, firefighters launched an aggressive operation to bring the blaze under control.
“Fire suppression commenced offensively using two attack lines from two opposite directions,” he said. Once the flames were extinguished, crews discovered five charred bodies beneath the burnt remains of the structure.
“All five (father, mother, and three children) were declared dead on scene by paramedics,” Ntladi confirmed.
The surviving teenage boy was reportedly asleep in an outbuilding located a few metres from the main shack.
In a similar incident in July, five people were also killed in a shack fire in Olievenhoutbosch Extension 25, Tshwane. Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Lindsay Mnguni said firefighting teams were immediately dispatched after the blaze was reported.
Upon arrival, firefighters found that the four-room shack had been completely destroyed. The victims included a senior citizen, one adult, and three minors. “A devastating shack fire in Olievenhoutbosch Extension 25 has claimed the lives of five family members,” said Mnguni.
The City of Tshwane offered counselling and support to the affected family, while Mayor Nasiphi Moya expressed her condolences. “This family was devastated by a fire that engulfed their four-room shack, killing five family members. The loss of two children, two adults, and one elder can only be described as a tragedy,” Moya said.
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