By Luvuyo Mjekula
A 37-year-old wheelchair-bound man tragically died in a house fire in Ncame Street, Joza this morning, leaving his neighours in utter shock.
It is not clear yet what caused the blaze, but unconfirmed reports pointed to a gas explosion. The man was alone in the house at the time of the tragedy.
Police confirmed the fire in a statement this afternoon. Spokesperson Captain Marius McCarthy said the Joza police have opened an inquest after attending to a scene at a house in Joza at about 11am.
“It is alleged that on arriving at the scene, the Fire Department extinguished the fire and upon examining the damage, the body of a 37-year-old wheelchair-bound man was discovered.”
McCarthy said investigations are ongoing.
When Grocott’s Mail arrived at the scene, neighbouring residents were fighting the blaze with buckets and fire extinguishers and a hose pipe from a nearby business. On realising the fire was spreading to the conjoined next-door house, the group quickly jumped into the neighbouring property to extinguish the fire. They also swiftly pushed a vehicle parked outside the house to safety.
When Makana firefighters arrived about an hour after the fire had started, they were turned away by some furious residents, who were heard shouting “it’s too late, the damage is already done”. However, after intervention by other residents, they were allowed to enter and extinguished what remained of the deadly blaze.
The incident left the neighbouring residents reeling, with a number of women in tears as the extent of the tragedy became clear.
