Pensioner has a solution for shack fires

KATLEHONG – Chris Nxumalo, a 66-year-old pensioner and former metal and steel worker, has designed what he says is his “creative contribution to curbing the increase of the number of people, especially children, who die in shack fires, often caused by burning candles”.

The handmade portable zinc gadget with self-controlling parts, which Nxumalo says takes him between a day or two to make, is in fact a “work of art” for someone who has no engineering qualifications. The contraption is a highly modified and modernised handmade candle holder which is designed to hold a burning candle up-right and then “nips” the flame once the candle burns to the end.

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Drippings wax from the burning candle falls into a container at the bottom of the candle holder. Nxumalo says once the container is full, the wax is re-useable as it can be mixed with paraffin and applied on lanolin floorings as a polish and is commonly used in informal households.

Paging through a thick brown folder with a pile of different newspaper cuttings depicting horrific fire stories about shacks gutted by fire, often caused by unattended candles, Nxumalo believes his new invention is a solution to such deaths in informal settlements.

“The sad part about these fires is that they always, as in most cases, often affect small children who are also among the majority of casualties in informal settlements,” he explains.

Nxumalo calls his handmade designer candle holder the “Candle-Sticker” and swears that it is not only “fire-proof”, but that it is also guaranteed to extinguish a burning candle even when the family in the household is fast asleep during the night. “Once a candle in inserted into the contraption and then is lit, you do not have to worry about it falling over and causing a fire when it finally runs out, even it is left unattended.” explained a proud and enthusiastic Nxumalo.

When asked by Kathorus MAIL what he hopes to do with his “Candle-Sticker”, the ageing pensioner said he wishes to find a financial backer who can finance him to mass produce his design. “It costs me about R150 to manufacture a single unit by hand, including all the parts, and it takes me roughly a full day or two, depending on how quick I can get the parts I need to complete a unit,” said Nxumalo.

Nxumalo says that he believes his invention could drastically reduce the number of shack fires in informal settlements. “I think the many deaths we have experienced over the years can be brought down to a minimal. That is why I think the mass production of the gadget will make it affordable to the ordinary household in informal housing as well as in normal households where, with the regular load shedding, they are likely to use a candle at some point,” explains Nxumalo.