Four toddlers under the age of two were discovered dead after a fire destroyed a home in Johannesburg’s Mayfair neighbourhood on Monday.
After responding to a reported house fire at about 11am, the City of Johannesburg’s emergency management services (EMS) confirmed the news.
“On arrival, firefighters found the house well alight and started conducting firefighting operations while conducting search and rescue operations,” said EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi.
“Four bodies of children ranging from two years and below were recovered; unfortunately, they were confirmed dead on the scene by EMS paramedics.”
Mulaudzi speculated that the children might have died from smoke inhalation.
“The cause of the fire incident is believed to be a heating device which was in use before the fire started; our fire investigation team is on site conducting preliminary investigations,” he said.
Mulaudzi urged the residents of Johannesburg to use heating devices with caution, particularly since the South African Weather Service has warned of extremely cold temperatures from Wednesday.
Fire damage at Thembisa hospital
Recent reports of fires in Gauteng have been numerous, particularly in public hospitals; the most recent one was at Thembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital.
According to the Gauteng health department, the fire completely destroyed the hospital’s main outpatient department after the emergency room and accident room caught fire.
The fire incident did not result in any reported injuries or fatalities.
The department’s spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, said that all 81 patients at the accident and emergency unit were safely evacuated to secure areas within the hospital because of the quick response of the hospital’s staff and emergency personnel.
According to him, the fire was successfully contained by firefighters from the City of Ekurhuleni and Gauteng emergency services.
According to Modiba, the department evaluated the degree of the immediate bodily harm. Patients who were in the impacted area are being reassessed and recounted.
He emphasised that the only affected area of the hospital was the accident and emergency unit.
