GEORGE NEWS - If the ambulance had arrived sooner, he might still be alive. This is the thought that haunts Bulelani Ntozini after his neighbour, Jonathan Davids, succumbed to supposed smoke inhalation after his home in Moeggehuur, an informal settlement in New Dawn Park, Pacaltsdorp, caught fire between 23:00 and 23:30 on Sunday night.
Davids (in his 30s) has been living in Moeggehuur since its inception in 2019.
Ntozini said he woke up to his neighbour's home in flames and together with other community members tried to douse the fire. Davids, who is believed to be a TB patient, managed to escape the inferno, but he struggled to breathe.
"We immediately phoned the fire department and Metro Ambulance Services. The firefighters were there in no time - 10 minutes, but we were told there were only two ambulances available for George at that stage and both were busy on other call-outs. But the ambulance never arrived," said Ntozini.
He said after the flames were doused and before the fire department left the scene, one of the firefighters also phoned the ambulance service to ask them to tend to the victim who was suffering from shortness of breath.
"He [Davids] was short of breath and very confused when the police arrived at about midnight. They also phoned the ambulance service to come out. The police officer told the person on the other side that the victim was a TB sufferer and that he was struggling to breathe. They still didn't come out," said Ntozini.
Davids' house was drenched after the fire was put out and he found refuge at the house of another neighbour a few houses from him, Brandon Michaels, while he was waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
According to Ntozini however, when Michaels went to check on his friend at 03:00 the following morning, he was already dead and there was still no ambulance in sight.
Ntozini said the ambulance only arrived much later that morning, after he phoned them at 07:47 to tell them that Davids had died. "The person at the switchboard simply told me that it can't be possible and put the phone down in my ear," he said.
"They arrived shortly afterwards to declare him dead."
A family lost all their belongings when their home in New Dawn Park was destroyed by a fire on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Facebook
EMS to provide feedback
In response to a media enquiry to the Western Cape's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department, media liaison official Megan Davids said EMS has been made aware of the incident and is currently collating information about the incident.
"We are also engaging with the complainant to obtain more information and will be able to provide feedback once all the facts have been obtained," she said.
In April, George Herald reported that George is grappling with a shortage of only three provincial (Metro EMS) ambulances to cater to the city's needs, with no prospects of immediate improvement.
This issue reflects a wider national problem, as the entire country is facing a scarcity of ambulances and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel.
EMS Garden Route district manager Llewellyn Nankoo at the time said the problem is primarily a staffing challenge, where each ambulance requires a team of 10 people working around the clock. The national norm suggests one ambulance for every
10 000 people, which would imply a need for approximately 16 ambulances in George. However, given the current economic climate, achieving this goal seems virtually impossible.
The fire at Davids' home allegedly originated from the trip switch box.
Davids' home was completely destroyed.
On Tuesday, two more houses elsewhere in New Dawn Park were destroyed in fires. Shortly before 12:00 an informal structure at the back of a house was burned to the ground and after midnight, just after the power came back on after load shedding, another house was razed.
Read a previous article regarding the shortage of ambulances in George and the reason for it at www.georgeherald.com.
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