Cape Town - Four residents who helped rescue a family from a burning house in Elsies River have been hailed for their heroic efforts.
The fire broke out at the residence on the corner of 24th and Norwood Avenue on Sunday morning, just before 8am, when Dino Darries, Marcelino Petersen, Dwayne Jeffrey, and Elton Erasmus risked their lives to save the family and help extinguish the flames.
Darries said when he saw the flames, he didn’t hesitate to climb up the side of the double-storey house to assist the family.
He said he had broken the top window for the family to climb through, as the asbestos roof was already burning.
“I heard people saying something was burning. When I got here I saw the people standing at the window.
“I told the daddy to get out because he was panicking, then I told the wife to pass the small child, the mother was the last person I helped out of the house,” Darries explained.
The 32-year-old Petersen said he, Erasmus, and Jeffrey began battling the fire with buckets of water and hose pipes after he saw Darries assisting the occupants of the house.
He said none of the onlookers tried to assist, adding that everyone observed from the pavement.
“A lot of people were standing around, but none of them bothered to help. The flames were very high, but the four of us went up,” he said.
“The four of us were helping until the fire brigade got here. When they arrived we continued to assist them,” said Petersen.
Videos of the incident show the men on top of the roof while a section of the house is engulfed in flames.
The City’s Fire and Rescue spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, said they received the call for help at 7.55am.
“The double-storey dwelling was severely damaged, three rooms on the ground floor and two rooms on the first floor were damaged, as well as the roof.
“The motor vehicle on the property was also affected as a result of the fire.”
Carelse said there were no injuries reported, and that the fire was put out by 9am. He said police were called because the owner suspected the cause of the fire was arson.
The police’s forensics unit officials were inspecting the property yesterday, while the family have since declined to comment.
The Elsies River Community Policing Forum (CPF) applauded the four men for risking their lives to assist the family.
The CPF said despite some of the men not having a good reputation in the community, they responded when no one else dared to.