Pretoria – Five family members were killed in a house fire in the early hours of Wednesday, the City of Tshwane’s Emergency Services Department said.
“Two family members, a mother aged 45 years and a male child aged three years escaped a house fire with minor injuries as five family members perished in the blaze that occurred Pretoria West in the early hours of 10 November 2021,” Tshwane Emergency Services Department spokesperson Thabo Charles Mabaso said.
“The Tshwane Emergency Services received the call at proximately 01:30 and dispatched firefighting resources to the incident. The first arriving firefighting unit to arrive on the scene found the house fully engulfed by fire, with parts of the roof having collapsed and were informed by bystanders that about 5 people are still trapped inside the house.”
Mabaso said the information was confirmed by the woman who escaped the blaze with a minor scratch on the forehead and smoke inhalation. The mother and her child were treated for smoke inhalation and transported to Pretoria West Hospital for further observation.
“Two deceased bodies were shortly discovered after firefighters started with firefighting and the rest of the deceased bodies were recovered as firefighters progressed with firefighting and during damping/cooling down operations and after the fire was extinguished,” said Mabaso.
“The five deceased included, four males aged six, 18, 22 and 24 years and a female aged 46 years. The cause of the fire is still a subject of investigation by fire safety officers and law enforcement agencies.”
IOL