Marloth Park house ablaze after lightning strike
A house in Hardekool Street, Marloth Park, was hit by lightning and caught fire on Sunday morning, but thanks to teamwork by the community, the blaze was contained and no one injured.
MARLOTH PARK – According to Nadine Edgecombe of the Marloth Park Concerned Citizens and community policing forum, Field Security reported a fire at 2 498 Hardekool Street around 08:35 on Sunday, just after a heavy thunderstorm had hit the area.
It is suspected that the lightning had struck the thatch roof and it caught fire, in spite of the lightning conductors that had been installed.
The house is a holiday home for a landowner who lives overseas. Luckily no one was home. The owners were, in fact, headed to Marloth Park to spend a week there when the disaster struck.
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Field Security, the Nkomazi Rangers, Marloth Park Honorary Rangers and Marloth Park’s Fire Response Team rushed to the scene with firefighting equipment to try to contain the blaze.
They removed all gas bottles, cut off the electricity, then attempted to douse the flames on the thatch roof.
Edgecombe and her team made contact with the Nkomazi Fire Department via Zello and sent Frits Koekemoer photos of the scene.
While he was en route he contacted a second fire truck from Tonga to assist.
MBM Security heard about the incident on Zello and also headed to the scene with two fire response trucks from Komatipoort.
The various groups divided into teams and took on the fire, crowd control and clearing the roads to ensure response vehicles could swiftly reach the scene.
Unfortunately, the fire burned too hot for brave volunteers to attempt to save any of the house’s furnishings.
It was severely damaged and all the furnishings destroyed.
Due to the storm the ground and surrounding plants were wet, which assisted the firefighters in keeping the fire from spreading to surrounding properties.
On behalf of Marloth Park residents, Edgecombe thanked everyone involved, including Securicon Ambulance Services and Gerrie Aucamp for their quick response and assistance. She also thanked Marlothi Shopping Center and Pat Vorster for supplying the teams with refreshments.
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Edgecombe commiserated with the homeowners. “We are sorry for your loss but are grateful that no one was at the property when the lightning struck. A home can be rebuilt, but a life cannot,” she said.
Although freak accidents can occur, homeowners are urged to regularly get their lightning conductors checked by an accredited company to ensure that they will not have any problems in case of an insurance claim.
