A fire in this Wallacedene shack claimed the lives of a couple and their three children. Picture: Supplied.
Wallacedene is in shock after a shack fire there on Saturday morning claimed the lives of a couple and their three children.
“Four persons sustained fatal burn wounds, including three minors, in an early morning fire in Manuel Street, Wallacedene, on Saturday October 26,” said JP Smith, the mayoral committee member for safety and security.
Resident Bloemie Galant said the family had been renting the shack behind her aunt’s house, and they had only moved in last Friday.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said Kraaifontein police had registered an inquest for investigation following a fire, which broke out at about 1.35am.
“Police members attended to the scene where the victims, an adult male, three children, aged 1, 3 and 6, were found between debris after the fire was extinguished by Fire and Rescue Services.
“They were declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. A 31-year-old female who sustained burn wounds was taken to a medical facility for medical treatment,” he said.
City Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Jermaine Carelse said the woman had later died in hospital and the cause of the fire was not known.
A community activist Mkholisi Mpukumpa called on the government to fast-track the building of houses for the poor.