Two Schauderville families have been left destitute and homeless after a fire on Monday gutted their Phyllis Street homes.
The fire engulfed the semi-detached homes at about 3pm on Monday, after a nearby transformer caught alight when a fire was started nearby.
According to witnesses and neighbours, the fire was allegedly started by people they knew.
However, with strong winds, the fire became out of control.
On Tuesday, neighbours were hard at work removing burnt rubble with shovels and cleaning the houses as both families look at rebuilding.
At Rolandi Botha’s front door, plastic bags filled with trash were lined up.
Botha, 29, lived with her two uncles, sister and a cousin.
“I had just come home from work and decided to go to Shoprite. When I left, there was a small fire close to the transformer.
“When I got to the shop, I got a call saying my house was burning.
“I said that’s not my house because I just left so there’s no way it is the same house.
“By the time I came home, everything was in flames,” she said.
“Everything is gone. My late mother’s photos, pictures of my grandparents, all of our furniture but most importantly all of the memories we had in that house were destroyed by the fire.
“This is the first time something like this has happened to us. We don’t know what to do or where to go from here.
“There is no money but I believe that our family and neighbours will help us with everything,” Botha said.
Neighbour Shade Meyer said the families were left with only the clothes on their backs, adding that nothing could be salvaged.
“This started as a small fire but the weather played a big part in spreading the fire. It gutted two wooden shacks at the back.
“These families struggle to put food on a plate daily. There’s an 18-year-old who’s in matric and lost everything.
“There are two psychiatric patients on the properties so the family needs all the help they can get.
“Because of the fire, we’re now without electricity because the transformer also caught fire.”
HeraldLIVE
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