Father seeks answers after unregistered daycare fire kills 4 toddlers
A heating device is believed to be the cause of the fire at an unregistered daycare where four kids died.
A devastating fire at an unregistered daycare centre in Mayfair, Johannesburg, has claimed the lives of four toddlers, including 7-month-old Precious, leaving her father, Mdumise Ncube, shattered.
The grieving father is calling for justice, demanding that the woman responsible for caring for the children face the full might of the law.
HEATING DEVICE BLAMED FOR DEADLY DAYCARE FIRE
According to preliminary investigations by the Johannesburg Emergency Services, a heating device is believed to have caused the fire. Ncube is struggling to come to terms with the loss: “I lost my child. She was among the four children who died at the creche. This is a very hard pill to swallow.”
“I can’t even believe it. I used to accompany her to go and play. We would go to the shops together. I’m down. I can’t believe what happened.”
SABC News reports that an anonymous resident, who lives just two houses away from the daycare, noticed smoke coming from the building and immediately called the EMS for assistance.
UNSAFE CONDITIONS: OVERCROWDED, UNREGISTERED FACILITY RAISES CONCERNS
“You could just see no one would survive. No kid will survive because the smoke was too much; it took them close to two hours to take out the kids. The front of the house is the shop, and then at the back of the house, there are rental rooms, and more than 50 people live inside the house.”
The source told SABC News that the creche was only a one-room and not registered.
“It’s very sad. It’s very emotional. It took EMS a long time to even take out the children. There were around 10 to 15 kids, but only four confirmed that passed on, and then two survived. The others are reportedly burned beyond recognition. We heard that there were only six kids in the house, but it is said that she used to take care of 10 to 15 kids in that one room.”
WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF CHILDREN IN UNREGISTERED DAYCARE CENTRES?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211
Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.