While managing to rescue one dog, residents were powerless to save a woman and the rest of her pets from a raging house fire in Mineralia, Middelburg this morning.
The Middelburg Fire Department was dispatched to the scene in Vos Street in the early morning hours and remained on the scene until well after 07:00 to hand over to the SAPS for further investigation.
According to a neighbouring resident who wanted to remain anonymous, they were woken by the blaze at roughly 04:00, which goaded them to run across the street to help.
Upon their arrival, they witnessed a Wendy house in the back of the yard in flames, with a woman and her four dogs still trapped inside.
The residents managed to rescue one of the four dogs but were unable to free the woman or the other dogs from the inferno.
Another resident, who also did not want to be named, attested to being woken up by the blaze at around 04:00. According to the resident, the flames were so high that they could see the blaze from their house, despite the block of flats separating them from the scene.
The neighbour could hear residents from the flats screaming to try and wake up the woman and occupants of the house.
Family members of the victim responded to the scene later this morning, which had been cordoned off by the SAPS to allow an investigation. The woman’s name has not been made public yet.
The cause of the fire is uncertain at this stage.
The following video material has been circulated on social media.
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