DURBAN - A woman’s 27-year-old son is believed to have set her house alight while he was drunk on Friday.
According to Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) spokesperson Prem Balram said the house was completely destroyed after it was allegedly set alight by the son who also lived on the property in Osindisweni, north of Durban.
Balram said Rusa was called out to the scene at approximately 7.21pm after receiving reports of a fire.
He said reaction officers and paramedics arrived at the scene and found that the house had been completely gutted in the blaze.
Balram said the 47-year-old homeowner informed reaction officers that she was at her place of employment when she received a call from her neighbour with regards to the incident.
“She further stated that her 27-year-old son was at home when she left for work. She believes that he started the fire intentionally as he was under the influence of alcohol,” Balram said.
“He fled the scene but was later apprehended by members of his family at a local tavern.”
Meanwhile, a teenage girl survived a structural fire in the Pietermaritzburg city centre on the same night.
Mi7 National Group spokesperson Colin Davids said just before 9pm, multiple Mi7 National Group units were dispatched after reports of a structural fire on West Street.
“Mi7 teams found that a house was well ablaze,” Davids said.
He said under the guidance of Mi7 rescue medics, all Mi7 teams including armed response units were given duties, including making sure that everyone was out of the property, overseeing the evacuation of neighbours, and traffic control.
“Pietermaritzburg firefighters arrived promptly and efforts began to battle the blaze. Mi7 Rescue medics, equipped with fire gear, assisted firefighters in these efforts,” Davids said.
“One patient, a teenage female, was found to have sustained minor injuries from an assault just before the fire broke out.”
Davids said the patient was transported to a local hospital for further treatment by another service provider while Mi7 emergency medical services stayed on the scene to assist in firefighting efforts.
He said no other injuries were reported.
Daily News