Two victims killed in house fires
GUTTED: Mduduzi Mpofu, 19, of Brown’s Farm in Philippi died in his shack
A 19-year-old man from Brown’s Farm in Philippi died when his shack caught fire on Saturday night.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, says it was around 8pm when the shack of Mduduzi Mpofu, a foreign national, caught fire in Chris Hani Street.
“He had been drinking earlier on, but he was not drunk. I think the fire started because he had his stove on.
“When the firefighters arrived no one knew that he was inside we only discovered his body once the fire was put out,” the woman says.
It’s understood Mpofu’s family are relocated all over South Africa and could not be reached.
Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse confirms two people died in two separate fires in Philippi and Wallacedene.
“The first was a man who died in a fire in Browns Farm on Saturday when an informal structure caught fire.
“The City’s Fire and Rescue was alerted at just after 10pm and while Gugulethu’s fire crew arrived on the scene soon after, the structure was completely destroyed and the man had sustained fatal burn wounds,” he says.
The second person died in the early hours of yesterday morning, when Brackenfell’s fire crew responded to reports of structures alight in Ntangana Street Wallacedene at 1am.
“Two formal structures were destroyed and a body, gender and age unknown was discovered amongst debris. Both scenes were handed over to the South African Police Service,” Carelse says.
Police spokesperson Colonel André Traut says inquests have been opened and the circumstances are being investigated.