Police officers from Kakamas rescued a bedridden grandfather and three young children from a burning house in Witrand.
POLICE officers from Kakamas rescued a bedridden grandfather and three young children from a burning house in Witrand.
Kakamas SAPS spokesperson Captain CJ Prins said that Sergeant Neville Mouton, Constable Melvin de Wee and reservist Constable Ricardo van Wyk, who were conducting patrols on June 18, saw that the house was on fire and immediately set about rescuing the family and extinguishing the flames using buckets of water.
“Constable Van Wyk went to the side of the house and saw an 83-year-old man lying on a bed, who informed him that he was bedridden and couldn’t move.
“As the front door was already engulfed in flames, Van Wyk broke the window and climbed into the burning house. He picked up the grandfather from his bed and carried him through the window to safety.”
Prins added that Van Wyk entered the burning house for a second time when he heard a young child crying in the house.
“He climbed through the window and found three children – aged two, four and 11 – on the bed. He grabbed the children and climbed back through the window.
“The fire was later extinguished. The inside of the house was badly damaged by the fire.”
Prins stated that the cause of the fire was currently being investigated.
“Relatives of the grandfather and the children expressed their gratitude to the three police members.”
The Kakamas station commander, Colonel Dries Witbooi, commended the members for their bravery when they risked their lives in order to save the family.
