Seriously ill man burnt in house fire in Eastbury

A man in his sixties is in a critical condition after he sustained extensive burns to several parts of his body during a fire at his home on Tollbury Place in Eastbury – Phoenix a short while ago (Wednesday).

At approximately 09:49 the Reaction Unit South Africa Phoenix Control Center received multiple calls from residents in the area reporting the upper level of a residence on fire. One caller also stated that a man in his sixties was in his bedroom and was being burnt alive.

Reaction Officers and Medics were dispatched to the scene and upon arrival found residents attempting to extinguish the fire with garden hoses. Medics were directed to the living room where the critically injured man was found to have sustained inhalation burns as well as burns to most of his body. He was stabilised him scene before being transported to a Provincial Hospital in a critical condition.

According to neighbors the elderly male was unable to walk due to a medical condition. He was alone at home in his bed when he allegedly attempted to light a cigarette and his blanket caught alight. The fire spread rapidly throughout the room. Neighbors noticed the smoke and forced their way into the home. They managed to enter the bedroom and carry the injured man to the living room.

The upper level of the home was extensively damaged in the fire.