Father’s fire heartbreak
Hero dad tells of fear, loss
WHEN Ntombikhona Ntuli and her family moved into their new Cornubia flat just two months ago, it was their first proper home and marked the start of a new life for their growing family.
It was also a time for the 57-year-old to rest, having worked the majority of her adult years as a domestic worker.
But, instead of rejoicing, Ntuli’s family is in mourning after she died on Thursday night when she jumped from the second floor to escape the dream home that had turned into a fiery trap.
At about 11pm, a candle had toppled onto a couch on the ground floor of the unit, quickly spreading upstairs. Unable to run out of the front door, five of the eight family members inside jumped out of the window.
“I did my best, I was the only man in the house. I tried to save everyone, but the fire was so hot. I was so scared when I saw the flames,” Ntuli’s son, Sanele Nxumalo, said.
He was brought to tears when speaking about his mother, and described how hard she had worked to put food on the table and keep their family together.
“My mother was so happy to come to Cornubia. We used to live in a shack in Clermont, then the city officials moved us into a transit camp in Inchanga. They told us we would be in that camp for only six months, but we were there for eight years.
“We came to Cornubia in February and my mother was too old to work, but I said I would find a job and take care of us. It was her time to rest. But now, I don’t know what to do.”
On the night of the fire, Nxumalo, 27, was awoken by his mother’s screams for help. Ntuli, Nxumalo, his daughters, and his girlfriend, Zama, were upstairs. His sister and her two sons were downstairs.
Unable to battle the flames, he jumped out of the window.
Outside, he found his mother dead – she had also jumped out of her bedroom window to escape the flames. It was suspected she had broken her neck.
Zama and Ntombifuthi, their eldest daughter, jumped as well, with Nxumalo catching his daughter. Their younger child, Olwethu, was trapped inside and Nxumalo used a neighbour’s ladder to climb back into the blazing house. She sustained burns to her body. His sister and nephews managed to escape.
Nxumalo, while mourning the loss of his beloved mother, is now focusing on the recovery of Olwethu, who is in a stable condition in hospital, but with severe burns.
“I don’t know what to do now. I just want Olwethu to get better. We have nothing now, everything was burnt.”
All their clothing, furniture, beds, blankets and food was burnt.
At the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Durban yesterday, Nxumalo walked with a limp – he hurt his leg and hand when he jumped out of the window.
Sleeping
“I have to just keep moving. My daughter needs me. She was asleep when I went to see her earlier and I will go back later. The doctors told me she is doing fine, but I can see by the way she is moving while sleeping that she is in a lot of pain. I want to speak to her to hear how she is feeling,” said Nxumalo, who said he had been searching for work since their move to Cornubia to support their family.
Electricity had not been connected to their unit by the eThekwini Municipality when they moved in, he said, adding that they were using a paraffin stove and candles.
“When we moved in here there was no power. We were told by the city officials that we would get power soon, so in the meantime we used candles for light,” he said.
The family were unsure about where they would spend last night; they were not certain the building was safe to live in and Nxumalo said several cracks had appeared.
When questions were sent to the eThekwini Municipality on why residents were moved into the Cornubia units while no power had been connected, spokeswoman Tozi Mthethwa replied: “The roll-out of eThekwini Municipality’s extensive electrification programme is under way across various parts of the municipality. (This is) due to the increasing demand for electricity in our city. However, the municipality will speed-up the electrification of all households that have not yet been reached, including those in Cornubia.”
Ward committee member Dudu Phewu, who also lives in Cornubia, has been at the family’s side since the incident.
“This family have lost everything. The whole house is black ash. They don’t have beds or blankets to sleep on, the pots have also all been blackened, so there is nothing to cook in. If anyone would like to assist the family they can come to Unit 2335 at Cornubia, or they can contact me on 071 511 4742,” she said.