An 83-year-old woman, Ms Langanani Sirunwa, was rescued from a burning house by her neighbour and a nearby resident at Mpheni B2 near Elim last week. The fire broke out at around 06:30 and destroyed the eight-room house on Tuesday, 8 February.
According to the daughter of the old lady, Ms Mashudu Sirunwa, she only sustained minor injuries and smoke inhalation. "My mother suffered burns on her face and both hands because of the fire. It was fortunate that those two men removed her in time. The paramedics arrived in time and took her to Elim Hospital for treatment," she said.
Ms Sirunwa explained that she was called early in the morning by a stranger, informing her of the fire. "I was still in shock and when I arrived, I started crying after looking at the house burning. I thought I was dreaming, but it was true. Everything burned inside, including clothes and valuable documents," she said.
A community member, Mr Thomas Munyai, was one of the men involved in the rescuing of the old lady. He said that he had gone to buy something from the nearby tuck shop when he spotted the fire. "I heard the granny screaming, calling for help. I then broke the door that was locked," he said.
Munyai said that he rushed to fetch water with a bucket to extinguish the fire, as it was too hot inside the house to enter. "The fire seemed to have started at the tuck shop, but I am not sure because the smoke was all over the house," he said.
According to Munyai, the granny was battling to breathe when he found her and laid her down. "While I was battling to take her out, the neighbour came, and we took her out," he said.
The victim's neighbour, Mr Fhulufhelo Muridili, added that he had been alerted to the fire after seeing smoke billowing out of the house. "I assisted to take the granny out of the house. It was fortunate that he (Munyai) was there," he said.
Muridili said that the firefighters had been quick to arrive on the scene, but by then the house had already been engulfed in flames.