Video: Atteridgeville family left homeless after shack destroyed in blaze

The Moela family in Atteridgeville was struck by tragedy on Sunday (May 10), when their shack was engulfed by flames, leaving them homeless and devastated, reports Pretoria Rekord.

According to a family member Lesego Moela, the fire broke out at the back of the shack shortly after sunset.

“I went out to the shops and left my three and six-year-olds with our uncle. When I came back, neighbours and community members passing by started shouting that our shack is burning,” she explained.

She said community members rushed to assist, using buckets of water in an attempt to stop the fire from spreading.

Moela mentioned that the fire spread very fast and efforts to contain it were unsuccessful.

“We lost everything including clothes, furniture, school uniforms and important documents, everything is gone,” she added.

Moela described scenes of panic and heartbreak as her children cried non-stop while residents scrambled to salvage whatever they could from the burning structure.

The family is now relying on the support of relatives and the local community as they try to rebuild their lives from scratch.

“We are appealing to anyone who can help with anything they are willing to share,” pleaded Moela.

Tshwane emergency services responded swiftly and extinguished the fire.

Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson, Nana Radebe-Kgiba said the four roomed shack burnt down completely, and fortunately no casualties were reported.

“Disaster risk management has done assessments to assist the displaced family,” she added.

Radebe-Kgiba said the cause of the fire could not be determined because of the extent of the damage.

Watch video here:

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