“All I can remember is I needed to grab my granddaughter (3) and run to safety,” were the words of Jennifer Aparicio (63), who watched her house go up in flames on July 19.
Emergency personnel responded to the fire at 3 Kiepersol Avenue in General Alberts Park.
The fire destroyed all of the Jennifer’s belongings a week after she buried her son-in-law.
Nothing left
“It was just before 10:00 and I remember I was making coffee when I started to smell something burning. By the time I got to the living room it was covered in pitch-black smoke.
I grabbed my granddaughter and started feeling for the keys to the front door because I was unable to see. When I found them, I unlocked the door and ran outside. When we safely got to the pavement, we heard the sound of all the windows bursting and breaking,” said Jennifer.
She said the fire started in her room and travelled to the rest of the house.
“The cause of the fire is being investigated.”
The fire damaged the house together with all the belongings of the family of seven.
“We only have the clothes left that we had on,” said Jennifer.
She said it broke her heart to watch everything she ever owned burn.
“Photographs, personal documents, clothes, furniture, cellphones. Everything is just gone.”
Luckily no one was injured, but sadly four budgies died.
Only Jennifer, her granddaughter and her brother was home when the fire broke out.
“I told my mom we can replace things, but we can’t replace a life,” said her daughter Cathy.
Jennifer was taken to the Garden City Hospital for a check-up because paramedics who treated her on scene noticed her blood pressure was nearly 200 and suspected smoke inhalation.
“They checked everything at the hospital, and I was discharged on the same day.”
Grateful
The family thanks their Heavenly Father for keeping them safe and unharmed.
“We are all alive,” said Jennifer.
“Thank you to everyone who assisted us on the day of the fire from the emergency personnel to the community members carrying food around for us. We thank God for your assistance. Thank you so very much.”
In need of
The family needs:
• Clothes and shoes for an eight-year-old girl and a three-year-old girl
• Clothes and shoes for three men and clothes and shoes for two women
• Any furniture
• Bedding and blankets
• Curtains
• Toiletries
• Any donation of food is also welcome
“We are grateful for any donation no matter how big or small. We are just so grateful.”
Drop-off points are at 14 Hibiscus Avenue in General Alberts Park and 13 Sienna Louise, Harris Crescent in Meyersdal.
Cathy can be contacted on 072 993 6134 if any donations need to be collected.
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