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FORMER Amazulu and Warriors’ coach Charles Mhlauri and his family escaped unhurt after the 18th century house they lived in was gutted by fire in the early hours of Tuesday.

The house is owned by Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school in New Hampshire, United States, where Mhlauri is employed as an assistant      athletic director.

Mhlauri, his wife Thembi, their four children and two guests were inside the Penniman House when the fire broke out in an attached shed after 4AM, according to school head Michael Schafer, but everyone made it out safely.

“We are so relieved that no one was injured, including the fire department personnel and first responders, many of whom are local friends and work with our students on the KUA Fire Brigade,” Schafer said.

The situation could have been much worse, Meriden Fire Chief Frank Currier said. Although the house was equipped with smoke detectors, they were “not functional” at the time of the fire, according to Currier.

At least one person inside the house was awake, smelled smoke, alerted the rest of the residents, and called 911, according to Currier.

“It could have been a totally different story,” he said.

KUA communications director Sarah Moore said she was “very surprised” to hear that the smoke detectors were faulty. She said the academy contracts outside companies to perform twice-a-year inspections.

“We have extensive procedures for fire inspections,” Moore said. “We are very conscientious about fire safety.”

The fire is believed to have started in or around a trash can that was in a small shed that adjoins the house with a large barn. An investigation into why the fire started is underway, Currier said. An investigator from the Office of the State Fire Marshal is aiding in that investigation. Mhlauri and his family have been moved to another KUA property, while officials make long-term arrangements for them, Schafer said.

The family had resided in the house for about five years. Two of Mhlauri’s children attend area grade schools, while a third goes to KUA. Their oldest child graduated from KUA and is in college, Schafer said. —Senior Sports Reporter/Valley News.