Fire season off to a roaring start
DOUGLASDALE - While residents of Thanda Thula are left reeling after a fire devastated a house in the complex last week, experts share tips on avoiding fire season disasters.
“It was certainly one of the most frightening things I’ve ever been through,” said Neil Crichton of the blaze that engulfed his Douglasdale house last week. Contrary to initial reports from neighbours and Emergency Services, Crichton and his family were inside playing an after-dinner game of cards when the fire started on 22 July.
Startled by a noise upstairs and assuming intruders had entered the house, Crichton hurried his wife and teenage daughter to the patio – only to see flames and smoke engulfing the thatched roof.
Crichton, his family and their large dog escaped the blaze by climbing over their electric gate. Crichton’s 78-year-old mother, living in the garden cottage, and the family’s domestic helper also escaped unharmed. Two Yorkshire terriers were found much later, uninjured, but the family’s two cats were not as lucky, and had to be treated for burns.
The fire, which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault, brought the Douglasdale community out in force. Crichton expressed gratitude for help rendered by RSS Security, Douglasdale police, and neighbours. Despite their best efforts, the house’s contents were incinerated, although security helped save both cars.
In the aftermath of the disaster, the Crichton family has continued to receive support from the community and is staying with friends while their insurance is being processed.The Thanda Thula conflagration comes as Johannesburg enters fire season when blazes are common and a no-burning law is implemented to avoid accidents.
Landowners in high-risk areas are required to establish fire protection associations, and prepare and maintain firebreaks before the fire season. According to Parapara Makgahlela of Working on Fire, insurance companies might not pay damages to landowners who are not members of their local fire protection association, if one exists.
Makgahlela recommended that residents in high-risk areas take precautions such as cutting grass on their properties as short as possible, preparing firebreaks, and reducing the fuel load on the premises to minimise the fires lighting up Johannesburg this winter.
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