Locked security gates and the immobility of some residents as well as a suspected electrical fault all possibly contributed to the 12 deaths in a blaze on Tuesday night at one wing of a KwaZulu-Natal old-age home.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Jay Naicker said after visiting the Kwabadala old-age home near Nkandla on Wednesday that security gates had been bent open by people trying to help residents stuck in the building. KwaZulu-Natal welfare minister Meshack Radebe said those who had been able to escape were those who could walk.
Naicker said it appeared that rescuers on the outside had bent the gates and then pulled them through. ”We are still waiting for the report from the fire investigator, who will then be able to tell us what happened,” he said.
He said a fire investigator from Pretoria will investigate the cause of the blaze and the subsequent events.
Radebe said: ”I never knew what the term burnt beyond recognition meant. Today I know.”
He said initial indications from investigators at the scene were that there had been an intermittent electricity supply, and there were reports that when the supply resumed, there was a loud bang at the mains switch. ”It still needs to be investigated, but this is the main feeling,” he said.
One of those who managed to escape from the home is believed to be a 99-year-old woman, who is currently recuperating in the nearby Nkandla Provincial Hospital.
He said he believed that some of those who had perished in the blaze on Tuesday night were bedridden and could not make their way out of the building or to a gate where they could be plucked to safety.
Radebe said that a task team will be appointed within the next week to look into the state of all the homes run by the provincial welfare department. ”It struck me that there were unused fire extinguishers. We need to know the state of buildings and we need to know that our staff are trained to deal with such incidents.”
He said he will also try to ”fast-track” the rebuilding of the burnt-out wing of the home.
A memorial service for the victims of the blaze will be held on Friday. — Sapa