Neighbours broke into a burning flat in Phoenix, north of Durban, to rescue a family after a blaze claimed three lives.
DESPERATE attempts by a neighbour to administer CPR to a two-year-old girl went in vain as the toddler succumbed to smoke inhalation from a fire at a residential complex in Phoenix last Tuesday morning.
Little Nurah Shabally, of Caneside, was known for greeting neighbours with a “sweet smile”, as her 40-year-old uncle, Mohamed Abdaal Hoosen, took her for walks in the complex.
Hoosen, who lived with Nurah, her parents, and paternal grandparents, also died at the scene from smoke inhalation.
His wife, Nasreen Desai, died four days later.
Her grandparents were not at home at the time.
The family's lounge following the fire.
Brave neighbours, who were alerted to the fire, risked their lives in rescue attempts.
Camy Paul, 41, said she heard a faint cry for help when her sleep was broken around midnight.
"It was so faint I thought I was dreaming. But when I heard the cry for help again, I immediately got out of bed and ran to my parents' room to wake them. We all ran out to see what was happening,” said Camy.
Her dad, Vivian Paul, 61, said he saw neighbours run toward the burning flat.
He said they tried to pry open the lounge window with their hands, but this did not work.
Fellow neighbour, Nishal Sudhoo, 42, said they eventually broke the window.
“We pulled the curtain aside, but the smoke was so thick that it did not help us. We could not see anything or anyone inside,” said Sudhoo.
"I tied a rope on the front gate and secured the other end of the rope to my van’s bull bar. When I reversed to dislodge the gate, it did not move. I eventually had to use a crowbar to pry open the gate.”
As more residents gathered, men began running into the flat to find and rescue the family.
Ashley Copichunder remembered running into the flat and immediately running out.
"The smoke was too intense. We could not see anything and could not breathe."
Sudhoo and Copichunder then covered their faces with whatever they could find, and ran back into the flat.
Vivian said he saw Copichunder emerge with Nurah.
"I immediately grabbed her from Ashley's arms and laid her on a duvet that the ladies placed at the parking lot. Camy, who trained in emergency rescue as part of being a cabin-crew member during her aviation days, got down on her knees and began administering CPR to the baby," said Vivian.
Camy said she began resuscitation but stopped when she realised Nurah was no longer alive.
“When my mouth touched hers, I could feel the cold of her body. The people around me cried for me to try again. I tried, but in my heart, I knew there was nothing that could be done for her," said Camy.
“Days later, I can still taste the smoke and soot from her.”
Vivian referred to Nurah as a “sweet child”.
“She and her uncle used to walk in the complex. She would greet everyone and laugh or smile.”
Nurah’s dad was interviewed on radio this week. He said he was struggling to come to terms with her death.
Kaabir Mohamed said his daughter was the joy of his life and he had not yet had the time to process what had happened.
“I just remember finishing work at 9pm and then going home. My daughter waited up with us. We played with her, and we then went to bed as usual.
“Then I woke up. My wife said there was a fire in the house. I got up immediately and ran into the passage, where I felt fire burn my face and my hands. And then with the smoke, I just… maybe I collapsed. The next thing I remember, I was outside our house.”
Dallas Danielsen, the eThekwini Municipality Fire Division commander, said that when firefighters arrived at the scene, the community were getting the family out of the house.
"I commend the work that the residents undertook in breaking through the security gates and retrieving the people who were trapped inside. They were brave in what they did," said Danielsen.
"Two of our firefighters, with breathing apparatus, entered the flat that was smoke-logged and continued to rescue a resident trapped inside. Fortunately, the fire did not spread further than the lounge.”
He said that, based on the pattern, it was suspected the blaze was an “electric fire”.
“The fire started burning, filling the flat with smoke, trapping the occupants inside. There is no foul play suspected, and unless proven otherwise, we suspect that it was an electric fire.”
Colonel Robert Netshiunda, a provincial police spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, said an inquest docket was opened.