Eight shacks, six vehicles destroyed in Benoni fire

Eight shacks and a mechanical workshop were destroyed in Thursday morning’s fire in Petit, Benoni, which claimed the life of a four-year-old toddler, Tembisan reports.

William Ntladi, Ekurhuleni emergency services spokesperson, said the toddler’s remains were found among the rubble after multiple shacks burned on a plot in Petit. During damping down, the remains of the toddler were discovered on what was a bed and was burnt beyond recognition.

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Six vehicles, a trailer and multiple workshop tools were also ruined by the blaze, Ntladi said.

“Emergency services received a call [this morning] and immediately responded for intervention. Rynfield and Farrarmere fire station firefighting crews arrived simultaneously with major rescue pumps, backed up by a water tanker from Boksburg. On arrival, eight shacks and a mechanical workshop nearby were already engulfed by flames.”

Ntladi said information obtained from the scene indicated the toddler was still asleep when the mother left for work. Someone had to collect the child later to take him to créche.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, though the preliminary report stated an illegal electrical connection might have been the cause.

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