Fire tragedy claims the life of infant
Follow these tips to help avoid injury this festive season
A tragic accident has left a baby dead after the family’s informal dwelling burned down on Friday, 15 November.
Roodepoort Police’s spokesperson, Captain Juanita-Anne Yorke, confirmed as follows: “The family are being counselled, and our deepest sympathies go out to them. An inquest docket has been opened and the incident is under investigation”. Preliminary reports suggest a candle fell over and ignited the items in the informal dwelling.
Also Read:
https://www.citizen.co.za/roodepoort-record/2015/02/20/shack-fire-kills-two-year-old/
This adds to the long list of fires in and around Roodepoort in 2019. Yorke urged everyone who is using open flames or other flammable substances indoors, to be extremely cautious.
Christopher Montgomery, a seasoned firefighter and founder of the volunteer fire and medical crew, Emergency Control South Africa (ECSA), offered the following tips on staying safe when using flammable substances:
1. Keep a close eye on paraffin stoves.
2. Don’t cook near a window with a curtain.
3. Keep the paraffin container and the stove separate from each other
4. Make sure that the stove is level and cannot fall over, as it may cause a fire and burn children.
5. Make sure candles cannot fall over.
6. Don’t go to sleep with candles still burning.
7. Watch out for discarded cigarette butts.
8. Be aware of the dangers of illegal and faulty electricity connections.
9. Keep a bucket handy to fill with water so that you can extinguish flames easily.
10. Keep a bucket of sand nearby to put out paraffin fires.
11. Teach children about the dangers of fire.
