Durban - Three South African Police Service officials have been praised for their heroic efforts after they rescued four people, including three children, from a burning home in Kakamas, in the Northern Cape earlier this month.
A bit of luck and good timing played a role in the rescue, as police indicate that Sergeant Neville Mouton, Constable Melvin De Wee and Reservist Constable Ricardo Van Wyk were on patrol when they spotted a burning house.
The Kakamas area is situated around 90km south of Upington.
Northern Cape police spokesperson Captain CJ Prins said the three officers immediately grabbed buckets and filled them with water to extinguish the fire.
Constable Van Wyk then decided to enter the home to rescue an elderly man who he saw through a window in the side of the house.
“As the front door was already engulfed in flames, the member, without hesitation, broke the window to gain access to the elderly man. He carried him to the window where he managed to hand him over to police members outside who took him to safety.
“At that stage, a young child was heard crying in the house and again Reservist Constable Van Wyk climbed back through the window into the burning house where he looked for and found three children aged 2, 4 and 11 on a bed,” Prins said.
Van Wyk managed to grab the children in time and hand them over to the officer outside the same window.
Prins said the fire was eventually put out but the house sustained extensive damages.
He told IOL the municipality was currently investigating the cause of the fire.
The three officers are from the Kakamas police station.
IOL