A woman and her two young children died after inhaling toxic fumes from a brazier burning in their home at Diepsloot, Johannesburg emergency workers said on Monday.
Spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said the children’s father was critically injured. He was taken to the Thembisa Hospital for further treatment after being treated by paramedics.
The family were asleep in their home when the incident occurred. The children — both infants, one only a few weeks old — were in a bedroom with their parents.
Seven people have been killed in the past week due to braziers being used in homes to ward off the cold weather.
”It is a metal drum with holes punched in it, filled with coal and wood and then lit … they build the fire and then take it into the house,” said Midgley.
A brazier used in the home is both a fire hazard and a source of toxic fumes, Midgley said.
The oxygen supply is cut off as people often seal off all the ventilation in their homes in order to keep the heat in, and the little oxygen left is consumed by the fire. — Sapa