Ayakha Godlwana and Doddy Teranes outside the Delphi Greek Taverna in Durban. Godlwana rescued Teranes from the blaze which destroyed the landmark.
With no firefighting experience or knowledge beyond a few YouTube videos, a Durban chef faced death several times in rescuing one of the owners of a landmark Durban restaurant when it burned down on Thursday.
The fire started at the back of the Delphi Greek Taverna and spread to the entire building. The restaurant owners - Doddy, Maria and Manuel Teranes - live upstairs and had closed the shop during the lunch break.
Doddy, 74, said she was checking up on her parrot, Charlie Boy, when smoke began filling the room. She panicked and began shouting for help. Her brother Manuel, who was downstairs, had grabbed a hose pipe to douse the flames he had seen growing.
Ayakha Godlwana, 32, is a chef at the Palm Terrace Cafe, three properties away from the taverna. Godlwana lives in Morningside and has a seven-year-old daughter. He said staff smelled smoke and then realised a building was on fire. Shopkeepers nearby soon alerted one another, and they ran to the restaurant.
