Winter safety drive is 'proactive' move

Jacob Lehobye forgot to put out the brazier that was keeping his family warm and it cost him his shack in the Pipeline informal settlement near Kya Sands, north of Johannesburg.

- Jabulile Mbatha

He nearly lost his life while battling the ensuing blaze.

For him, the city of Joburg's winter fire safety campaign, which was launched in Kya Sands on Monday, came too late. His burn marks will always remind him of the day he nearly lost his wife and one-year-old twins.

The campaign was launched by the city's Emergency Management Services (EMS), disaster management, the Forensic Pathology Service and City Power.