Two toddlers were saved from certain death thanks to the brave initiative of a domestic worker last week.
Selina Melato of Silverton is being heralded as a heroine by the family of siblings Michelley (4) and Rayden Rosenberg (2) after she rescued them from an inevitably gruesome fate when their house in Villa Letabo in Silverton caught fire on Tuesday morning.
According to the siblings’ grandmother, Sheila Singh, in whose household the two were spending the day in the care of her live-in domestic worker Selina, it is assumed that a heater caused a blanket to catch fire at around 08:30.
“Michelley and Rayden were watching a children’s television programme in the bedroom when they saw the flames. They were scared and didn’t know what to do.”
The terrified toddlers proceeded to hide in a cupboard, a move that could have been fatal, that is if Selina didn’t have the presence of mind to get them out of the room at all costs. “She somehow made her way through the thick, dark smoke without even thinking about her own safety. “She didn’t know where to look for them, but says she just headed straight for the cupboard,” says Sheila.
Selina’s intuition ultimately saved the children, who were escorted out of the unit and treated for trauma and injuries by emergency services on the scene.
Rayden and Selina sustained only light burns, while Michelley came away from the fire unscathed.
A relieved grandmother says she is eternally grateful for the unstinting actions of the woman who has been working for her for almost 20 years now. “I thank God for Selina and that the children are alive. I don’t know how she managed to get through the thick smoke and flames and down the stairs with the children, but she did.
“The fire may have burnt my possessions and part of my home, but those are material things and can be replaced. You can’t buy a life.”
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