Nurse grateful to be alive after surviving fire in Free State hospital dorm

10 December 2019 - 15:10 By Nonkululeko Njilo
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An investigation is under way to establish if a fire, which gutted a nurse's room, was sparked by a damaged appliance after load-shedding.
An investigation is under way to establish if a fire, which gutted a nurse's room, was sparked by a damaged appliance after load-shedding.
Image: Supplied

A 35-year-old nurse at Albert Nzula Hospital in Free State is grateful to be alive after a fire gutted her room in the nurses' home while she was sleeping.

Zizipho Nyameni, a single mother, said she woke up in the early hours of Tuesday to a room engulfed in flames and fumes.

“I was so confused, scared and shaken because I had just woken up and had no idea what had happened,” she told TimesLIVE.  

Despite the flames, she was able to run to the door and call a neighbour, who helped stop the fire from spreading further.

Emergency officers were called to the scene and Nyameni was admitted to hospital.

“I lost all my belongings but I am grateful I wasn’t seriously harmed. A lot could have happened. I don’t even know how I woke up in the middle of the night because I don’t usually do so,” she said. 

The spokesperson for the department of health in the province, Mondli Mvambi, said the cause of the fire was unknown but investigations were under way.   

“Our infrastructure unit is investigating the cause of the fire. It is understood this may have been caused by an explosion of one of the appliances in her room when electricity returned after a few hours of load-shedding,” said Mvambi.

He said Nyameni would be allocated another room at the nurses' home.

Hospital CEO Dr Mosebi Thejane expressed shock and regret about the incident, which he said nearly claimed a life.

“We are pleased our colleague is safe and sound,” he said.


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