A routine day for the City's Water and Sanitation Pinelands sewer depot team took a heroic turn when they became first responders to a house fire in Heideveld, going beyond the call of duty, when they rescued a two-month-old baby, stuck in an upstairs bedroom.
While en route from addressing a blocked sewer in Athlone, the team encountered a house engulfed in flames on Klipfontein Road.
Acting swiftly, the eight officials split their efforts, with some focused on evacuating the family, including the parents and three young children, while two male officials scaled the roof of the garage.
The two broke through a window to rescue a two-month-old baby trapped in an upstairs bedroom.
The team then went on to put out the fire, using non-potable water which was available in their jet combination truck, normally used to respond to sewer blockages.
When the City’s Fire and Rescue services arrived on the scene, the fire had already been extinguished thanks to Lee-Roy Sheldon, Gideon Tyman, Naziem de Jager, Verona Joseph, Ismail Boer, Quinton Sakala, Faeeza Malherbe and Claudia Josias.
The City’s mayoral committee member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, met the team to thank them and honour them for their “outstanding service, compassion and nimble thinking”.
“The heroism that this team displayed shows how officials are every day working together, towards truly making Cape Town a city of hope.
“They lived our City values boldly and put everything aside to respond to the call of duty. Also commendable is the sincerity and care for the wellbeing of the family in their time of need,” said Badroodien.
Following the incident, the officials, moved by empathy, sponsored basic essentials for the affected family in their personal capacity.
Cape Times