[UPDATE] Fire leaves family with nothing
'I am not scared of death - I'm scared of what will happen to my children's future.'
In July, a family of three adults and nine children lost everything when their pre-fabricated house caught fire, allegedly because of an electrical fault in the main bedroom.
Widower Nick Groenewald, together with his children and grandchildren, had lived in this house for three years and never experienced a day’s trouble with the electricity.
Due to the flammability of the insulation in the roof, the fire stretched to about one metre below the roof, heading towards the wooden floor. The smoke from the insulation is also extremely toxic when inhaled.
Even though Nick and his family are truly grateful that the fire department managed to put out the fire, he explained that everything that wasn’t destroyed in the fire is water-damaged.
Read article here: Fire leaves family with nothing
During the News’ most recent visit to the family, Nick explained that they had received a great deal of support from the community in the form of food, clothes, lounge furniture, carpets, a gas stove and beds, among other things.
“We are truly, truly grateful to each and very person that has helped us this past month. We will never be able to even begin describing how much we appreciate it,” he said.
However, they are still currently facing several challenges. According to Nick, he is not the legal owner of this provincial house, but had lived with the owner until six months ago.
The owner allegedly packed some of his bags and left with the promise of returning the following day for the rest of his belongings.
“We moved in with the owner because we had an arrangement that the house would be transferred into my name later on. But then he left unexpectedly and never returned. I haven’t been able to get hold of him since,” Nick explained.
As a result, the family are now unable to have their fire-damaged roof repaired.
“Someone actually approached us and offered to repair our damaged roof, but we can’t give the go-ahead unless we receive approval from the authorities,” he said.
Every night Nick has to cover the roof with thick plastic squares and bricks to insulate the family against the cold winds and rain.
“I don’t sleep at night because I have to climb up to the roof several times to ensure that the important parts remain covered. I don’t like living like this. If the people in charge of these mobile homes want money, I’ll give them money. I just want to protect my family,” he said.
“My kids see me as their superhero. How am I going to explain to them that we got thrown out of our house? I am not scared of death – I’m scared of what will happen to my children’s future.”
He explained that even though it’s difficult, he works hard to bring in an income by doing odd jobs. He is currently in the process of trying to get ownership of the house.
“We stand behind our community 100 per cent,” said the councillor for Ward 17, Aletta van Loggerenberg, “and support Nick’s efforts at trying to establish legal accommodation for the family.”
Nick’s youngest grandchild is only two years old. Four of the nine children and grandchildren are still in local primary and secondary schools.
Should anyone feel the need to assist this family with odd jobs or donations of any sort, feel free to contact Nick on 079 050 9447.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister websites:
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
