House fire on R40 claims grandfather’s life
Neighbours had to break open a window to get an elderly man out of a burning house on the R40, but he passed away shortly after.
In what appears to have been an electrical fire in their house, a family lost their grandfather and some of their pets.Hugh Williams (65) was alone at home where he lives with his daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren near Church Unlimited, when the fire broke out.
“We lost everything we owned, but that can be replaced. What we cannot replace is my dad and four pets that did not survive,” said the son-in-law, Richard Mair.
They were at work when they received a call about the fire. One neighbour living on the top floor of the same building, saw smoke coming up to his floor and realised something was wrong. He went next door to another neighbour, Tommy van der Westhuizen, to get help.
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Standing in the yard of the severely fire-damaged house, Van der Westhuizen explained what had happened that morning. “It is terrible. Just like that, in an hour, and it’s gone…
“When I got here, it was just flames. Oom Hugh was still in his room. “We broke open the window to his bathroom, because we could not get in anywhere else. That is how we got him out.” Van der Westhuizen said Williams was still alive by the time they were able to get him out of the house, but emergency services, which had also arrived in the meantime, were unable to save his life.
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The part of the house with Williams’ room had not been reached by the flames, but the kitchen and living area had little to nothing left that was not mere charred remains. Mair said it was an electrical fire and they are awaiting a report. They went to the house on Wednesday afternoon to make arrangements for the pets that survived.
“We are not sure where we are going or what the future holds. For now we are focusing on getting my dad buried.”
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