Fireman falls 9m during demo

2006-07-25 22:59

Lucille Botha

Cape Town - A senior fireman from Stellenbosch is in the intensive-care unit of Vergelegen Medi-Clinic after he fell three storeys in front of a group of toddlers.

Shocked colleagues of Malvin Oosterwyk, 33, had to be given counselling after the fireman fell about 9m during a demonstration.

His skull and two neck vertebrae were fractured. His girlfriend, Nazeema Khan, 33, said he was being kept sedated and there was suspected pressure on his brain.

On Saturday, Oosterwyk and his colleagues presented an awareness day at Stellenbosch municipal fire brigade at the corner of Cluver and Helshoogte roads, for a group of toddlers and their parents.

Give safety tips

Fire brigade chief Lizaan Morta said a woman had contacted them and asked them to hold the day for their children.

Municipal spokesperson Pieter Loftus said awareness days were held regularly.

"They show the children what firemen do, how to contact the fire brigade and also give safety tips."

Loftus said that the firemen ran up the fire tower at the end of the day. Then one of them - that day it was Oosterwyk - abseiled down the tower's wall with ropes.

Loftus said: "We have not been able yet to determine exactly what went wrong.

"He might not have held the ropes correctly, or he might have done something wrong."

Loftus said Oosterwyk was still in a critical, but stable, condition in hospital.

"He's the only one who can tell us what happened, but we've not been able to talk to him yet. Only his family are allowed to see him," he said.

One of the parents who accompanied the toddlers, took care of them immediately. Loftus said some parents had already phoned to ask about about Oosterwyk's condition.

Keeping vigil at his bed

Khan said Oosterwyk had two young daughters from a previous marriage. She was five months' pregnant with their child.

"It's almost impossible to believe what happened. He is always so safety conscious that I just can't believe this happened to him."

She said she was keeping vigil next to his bed as much as she could.

Morta said the toddlers had not seemed to be traumatised by the accident.

- Die Burger