VIDEO | Sole survivor of fire recalls last moments with family

Hours after a fire ravaged his home, killing his parents and three siblings, the 19-year-old sole survivor spent his Monday morning sifting through the ashes and trying to salvage whatever he could from the rubble that once was his family home.

Among the ashes, Jovencio Tembe found his father’s half burnt drivers’ licence and a photograph showing his parents and one of his siblings smiling at the camera.

The hearts of the neighbours broke as they watched him.

“He wasn’t crying,” said a neighbour, “He just kept himself busy, going through the rubble and removing what little was left.”

Later, other neighbours joined Jovencio and they quietly removed the debris, pulling out pieces of steel, car engines, and any items that had survived the flames.

Jovencio’s mother, Anna Candaja, father John Tembe, brother Phillip Tembe and younger sisters Thuli and Precious Tembe perished in the fire that broke out on Sunday night at Steve Biko informal settlement in Etwata, Ekurhuleni.

Recalling his last moments with his family, Jovencio said he had returned home from work on Sunday evening then went to visit friends. He returned around 8pm.

He said everyone went to sleep around 9.30pm. He also went to sleep at his shack outside the main house.

“I was in my room when I heard our neighbour calling my name. When I went outside, all I could see was smoke. I kept calling out for my mother,” he recalled.

All Jovencio is left with are the clothes on his back: a hoodie, skinny jeans, socks, and flip-flops.

The community managed to save Jovencio’s father’s three bakkies which they managed to pull away from the blaze before the fire spread.

Rael Mulhovo, a neighbour, said Jovencio has struggled to leave the scene of the tragedy.

“We keep asking him not to go back there, but he won’t stop. He keeps looking for things he can recover. It’s hard for him to let go. I don’t think he will ever forget what happened.”

Mulhovo added that they had tried to put out the flames but were overwhelmed by the intensity of the fire.

“The father was a car mechanic. There were petrol containers, engine parts, and car oil inside the shack. When the heat built up, the petrol containers exploded, and the fire became too strong. By the time firefighters arrived, everything was gone,” he said.

According to Mulhovo, they saw a heartbreaking scene after the fire had been put out.

“The mother and father were in bed with their arms around each other with their toddler between them. Meanwhile, the two siblings were found by the door. It seems like their bedroom was locked and they had struggled to get out of it.”

Spokesperson for Ekurhuleni disaster and emergency management services (DEMS) William Ntladi said firefighters received a call just before midnight on Sunday.

“All five bodies were found beneath the rubble... the mother and father were lying side-by-side, with a toddler between them, while the other two children were found in another room,” he said.

“They were burnt. They actually sustained intense, intense, intense burn wounds. So those were basically charred bodies, one could say,” said Ntladi.

Maureen Baloyi, who was among the first to respond, said she had seen the family returning from church just hours before the tragedy .

“They looked happy, there was no sign that anything bad would happen,” she said.

“Around 10.30pm, I heard Thuli (the couple’s 16-year-old daughter) screaming for help, and when I looked outside, smoke was already coming out of their home.”

She rushed to help.

“I didn’t even go through the gate ... I jumped over the neighbour’s fence, screaming for help from the community,” she said.

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“I could hear Thuli crying out to her mother, shouting, ‘mama! mama!’ Then there were noises, like they were struggling to get out of the shack.”

“I heard their mother shouting, ‘Thuli, Thuli,’ and then she went silent,” said Baloyi.

After waking up Jovencio, Baloyi said they both managed to open the door to the main house. However, a huge ball of flame that met them as soon as they opened pushed them backwards.

Later, the fire spread to Jovencio’s shack and razed it.

Around 10.30pm, I heard Thuli (the couple’s 16-year-old daughter) screaming for help, and when I looked outside, smoke was already coming out of their home.

—  Maureen Baloyi

Tinyiko Tembe, (not related) a neighbour who was close to the family, said the late mother, known affectionately as Sis Anna, often helped those around her.

“Sis Anna was like a sister to us. She took care of us when our own mother fell ill and had to move back to Mpumalanga,” Tinyiko said.

“She bought us groceries and helped take our children to the clinic without asking for petrol money. Her children were like our siblings. I don’t know how we’ll recover from this.”

Residents assume the fire could have been caused by illegally connected electricity in their area.

However, Ntladi said the cause of the fire was not yet known

Sowetan