What was once a beautiful and warm home in Mganduzweni, is now a memory, filled with ashes from a horrendous fire. Diphiwe Mashiloane’s family were left in chaos after a fire they allege was ignited by the interruptions of power supply due to load-shedding.

In the past week, there have been reports of other families in the province that lost their homes, and they allege the fires were caused by load-shedding. A family in Pienaar is said to have lost a loved one during a fire, a family in Matsulu lost their house and one family member suffered severe burns, and two sets of twins died in a shack fire in Hendrina.

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Mashiloane said the fire had started in her grandmother’s bedroom while she had gone to visit a relative who lives nearby. She said a radio is always left on in the bedroom so the grandmother can listen to current affairs.

“My grandmother left when we got load-shedding around 07:00 in the morning. We were scheduled to have power interruptions at 10:00, however, it started a few hours earlier. My uncle walked into the house and asked me if I was cooking something in the kitchen, and when I said no, he told me there is some smoke coming from inside. We checked around the house and saw the fire in my grandmother’s bedroom,” she said.

“I froze and my mind went blank for a moment, but was able to help my uncle come up with solutions. I handed him some buckets filled with water to extinguish the fire while I shouted for help from our neighbours. Some climbed up the roof to dismantle it so that the fire did not carry on. The police came and called the fire department, but it took long to get here,” said Mashiloane.

She, her two toddlers, her uncle and her grandmother are left with nothing. “Our clothes, important documents and everything we had to our names are ashes. I am relieved that no one got injured. I managed to keep my little ones safe while we were hard at work,” she said.

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On Monday July 4, Sipho Zitha of the Mpumalanga NPO Association said they are currently assisting the family.

“We would like the community to help us assist them so that we can be able help rebuild the house. We need someone to do the necessary assessment as to what transpired and what led to the fire. We have spoken to the family and they have agreed that we assist them with planning and raising funds. I would like to urge the public to join us by donating clothes and furniture and rendering services such as constructing the house or any other service, and the family needs funds. I believe we can help this family get back on their feet if we work together.”

For those who would like to assist, Zitha can be contacted on 082 858 7869.