Siphelele Nketo

THE early hours of Saturday, August 14, brought trauma to Ntsikelelo Mapuceni (31) who heroically saved his family from an intense house fire. Mapuceni, from the rural village of Phuka in EmaXesibeni (Mount Ayliff), rushed into a smoke-filled room to carry his family members out and made sure they all escaped safely.

At around 3:45am on that day, he was woken up by his two nephews who screamed for help. He was sleeping in a separate room from the rest of his family.

When he went to investigate, he saw the shock of his life when the large plume of smoke came out of the rondavel. He thought of his family, and eventually got inside the burning house to rescue his relatives.

“On that night, I returned home at 12:30pm from a church service. When my nephews shouted for help, I was in a deep sleep. Initially, I thought the noise was from people who were having fun overnight. Little did I know, it was a real cry for help,” Mapuceni said.

He only managed to rescue eight members of his family from the fire. Unfortunately, Lizwi Vacubana’s (6) body was discovered after six hours.

Lizwi’s mother Vuyelwa was the last person to be rescued alive with burn wounds on her lower body and head. She was taken to hospital and later discharged. She has been nursing her wounds at the family home.

 “In the beginning, we assumed Lizwi had run away to his neighbours when the fire was started, but unfortunately his body was found under burnt wreckage, lying on his back,” Mapuceni added.

Another survivor, Saziso Mapuceni (56), has thanked God that he escaped the blaze, saying if it were not for God’s grace, everyone would have died because the fire was so stubborn that firefighters and community members struggled to overcome the blaze on time.

The funeral service for Lizwi will be conducted on Saturday, August 29.