Homeless man helps fight fire in Rosebank

A homeless man rushed to fight a vehicle fire in Rosebank on Sunday August 4.

Angelo Delport, 39, says he was walking from Mowbray to Rosebank at around 11am after he collected food from a church when he saw a thick plume of dark smoke.

“I thought to myself, ‘This is not someone braaing; this looks like a house fire.’”

He asked a resident to call the fire department and then went towards the smoke.

“I saw a vehicle on fire and part of a garage door burning, and I saw lots of people in distress.”

The Hermitage complex body corporate chairperson Laura Milandri said residents had been trying to move their vehicles away from a burning Jeep at the complex when Mr Delport had arrived and had helped to fight the blaze with fire extinguishers.

However, despite using about nine fire extinguishers, the fire had burned on, said Ms Milandri.

Her husband, Carlo Milandri, fetched his garden hose, which Mr Delport attached to the tap, and the two men fought the flames, getting the fire under control until the fire department arrived.

“The fire brigade would eventually come and put out the fire with their large hoses,” Ms Milandri said.

City Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said they had been alerted to the fire just after noon.

“According to the caller, they heard a gas bottle explosion, saw heavy black smoke and could hear people screaming in the vicinity of the complex,” he said.

Responding Salt River firefighters had found a Jeep alight and had extinguished the fire just before 1pm, he said.

“The entire engine compartment of the vehicle was damaged as well as the garage door. The cause has not yet been determined.”

Ms Milandre said the firefighters had praised Mr Delport for a “job well done”.

“Without Mr Delport’s help, we would not know what could have happened.”

Mr Delport earns tips from watching cars at Mowbray Maternity Hospital during the evening visiting hours, and he lives with his girlfriend in makeshift shelter in Rosebank.

He said he had seen many disaster shows on TV while growing up in Mitchell’s Plain. “I did dream of being a firefighter, though it was not meant to be.”

He said he would like to get a permanent job as he passed matric and has a driver’s licence.