Fire destroys rental building in Hlobane
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the residents have speculated that electricity fluctuations throughout the day (on Tuesday) may somehow be to blame, as the fire started in one of the rooms upstairs and spread to the other rooms. Anyone who would like to assist can contact 073 791 7379 or 083 516 3302.
A rental building next to the supermarket and bottle store in the Hlobane area was destroyed by fire on Tuesday last week. The fire department responded to the scene to extinguish the flames. Mr Madela from the fire department explained that the rooms on the top floor of the building were damaged the most.
Several people who rent rooms there were left homeless and in a state of shock. It is said that a man who is deaf and mute saw the flames first and tried to tell those inside that the building was on fire, but no one took any notice until they saw smoke coming from one of the rooms.
A woman who rents one of the rooms said that she was doing her laundry downstairs when she saw smoke. However, she didn’t pay much heed as she thought someone might be cooking. ‘’I only paid attention when black smoke was covering the whole corridor upstairs. That is when people started screaming and yelling. Everything of mine was inside my room and got burnt; I only have the clothes I am wearing right now and the laundry I was washing,’’ she said.
Dean Joji, who is the previous owner of the building, explained that no one was harmed during the fire, but many have been left without a roof over their heads and without their belongings.
The owner of the building, Mr Mthethwa, said he has been left traumatised by the blaze, which gutted the structure and destroyed most of the tenants’ belongings. ‘’At this moment, I do not know what to say because this is bad. I just bought this building in December and now this happens. The tenants are all over; some living with their close relatives; and nobody has come forward to help them.’’
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the residents have speculated that electricity fluctuations throughout the day (on Tuesday) may somehow be to blame, as the fire started in one of the rooms upstairs and spread to the other rooms. Anyone who would like to assist can contact 073 791 7379 or 083 516 3302.
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