TWO little girls survived a shack fire in Dube, Soweto, on Monday, 11 March.
The girls, aged between three and six, were allegedly left alone, locked up in a shack by their parents who allegedly went to gamble.
Residents told Daily Sun it’s not the first time the kids were left on their own. Neighbours also believe this time around, the parents left them intentionally.
A neighbour told the SunTeam she was on her way from school when she saw smoke coming from the neighbour’s yard.
“I saw smoke and could smell fire. I rushed home, and when I got there, I informed other tenants about what I had just seen. We rushed there. Other neighbours were already there. They started calling the kids by name and shouted for help. Fortunately, the owner of the shack next to the kids' heard us,” she said.
She added that when the incident happened, the gates and the shack were locked, and people couldn’t go inside.
“A neighbour immediately woke up. He was from night shift. He broke the door down and was able to save the two little girls,” she added.
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It’s alleged that when the kids were rescued, they had suffered burn wounds, one on the hip, just below the bums, while the three-year-old had burns on her hand.
Faith said the community extinguished the fire using a hose pipe, but they couldn’t save the furniture.
“We don’t know what started the fire. Maybe the kids tried to cook something."
Another neighbour said she took the kids to her house for safety and was later fetched by their mother, who then allegedly ran away with them.
Community members say the mother should be arrested for child neglect.
However, they told Daily Sun they didn’t open any case with the police and firefighters were not called to the scene.
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