Birchleigh family loses their home to fire during outage
Grant and Jo-Ann also praised their neighbours on Maroela Street, who are said to have helped a great deal
A Birchleigh family of five escaped unharmed from their burning home during the prolonged power outage which hit the city on June 8.
The fire is believed to have started at 3am on June 10 in the bedroom of Jo-Ann and Grant Small’s teenage daughter (14).
The fire was detected by Jo-Ann when she heard popping glasses. She woke up her husband who went to inspect his daughter’s room.
Luckily, by that time, the daughter had already escaped to the safety of her parents’ room.
Grant alerted the rest of the family in time for them to evacuate the house. Everyone, including two cats, survived the blaze. However, their two Scottish Terriers died in the blaze.
Grant said: “We believe the cause of their deaths was due to suffocation due to smoke inhalation, as the one Scotty’s fur was only lightly singed.”
Grant said it was not clear what caused the fire.
The flat they occupied was being rented from Grant’s mother. The property is covered by insurance and they are waiting on assessors to establish the extent of the damage.
The family’s personal belongings were not insured. The fire completely consumed the rooms of the three children, and had left the two boys (aged 16 and 11) and teenage girl with barely anything.
The couple praised two security companies, Smart Security and MML, who first responded to the emergency. They had already begun to extinguish the fire with one of the company’s private resources when the fire department arrived.
Grant and Jo-Ann also praised their neighbours on Maroela Street, who are said to have helped a great deal.
The family had been welcomed into the house of Grant’s mother. Jo-Ann also borrowed her mother-in-law’s laptop, as she is studying to acquire a diploma for Grade R teaching. Most of their home appliances were lost in the fire.
Jo-Ann would like to thank everyone who prayed for them and helped them during this time. “I praise Jesus for sparing our lives and giving us beauty instead of ashes,” she said.
The family would humbly accept any donations. The children’s school uniforms are a concern, as they are expensive. The teenage son (16) and daughter (14) both attend Hoërskool Birchleigh.
Anyone who wishes to contribute may call Grant on 083 411 8533.
