A 10-year-old child from Strand managed to escape a fire unharmed, but unfortunately his parents weren’t  as lucky and they perished in the blaze which occurred during the early morning on August 31.

The City’s Fire & Rescue Services received a call just after 5.30am of a formal dwelling alight in Vredehof Street, strand.

Fire and Rescue spokesperson Jermaine Carelse, says Strand fire crews were quickly on scene and were confronted with a smoke-filled building.

The front door of the dwelling had to be broken down to gain access and a man (49) and a woman (33) were found unconscious inside.

Despite immediate efforts to resuscitate them, they were declared deceased on the scene. The police secured the scene and investigations continue.

In other incidents over the weekend, six others and a toddler died in fires at Dunoon and Khayelitsha.

“Experience has shown that winter is the time when there is an increased risk of structural fires, especially as people try to stay warm,” Carelse said.

The City cautioned people to ensure that cooking fires are extinguished properly, keep a bucket of sand and a bucket of water handy, and to extinguish all candles and lamps before going to sleep or leaving home.

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