“It was horrible. Seeing it in flames and there’s nothing you can do. You don’t know what to do or where to start,” said Dikeledi Innocentia Baby after almost losing her home.
At around 03:00 on Sunday, 31 May, Dikeledi’s family was asleep when her partner suddenly woke her up and said it smelt like smoke. He thought someone was cooking, but she thought to herself “At 03:00?” So, she got out of bed to see what was happening. “The passage was in flames. Then I looked closer, yoh! The room was on fire!” she stated.
Panic-stricken, she quickly woke everyone up and they all ran outside. She called their neighbours, who came to their rescue and were able to extinguish the fire with water.
“I was afraid, to tell you the truth. It was the first time seeing that,”
The fire burnt everything in the guest room, where their clothing was. The bedroom windows were also shattered. The fire damaged the corrugated iron sheeting, the ceiling in their passage and living- and TV room and destroyed their distribution board.
Mokupi Baby, Dikeledi’s younger sister, says it’s still difficult to process what happened that morning. “My emotions are all over the place. At that moment, I was afraid and confused,” she said.
Luckily, no one was injured in the incident; Dikeledi’s 10-month-old baby was visiting relatives. Her partner, 12-year-old daughter, 10- year-old and 2-year-old sustained no injuries.
The Baby family contacted the police and the disaster management centre for assistance and to assess the damage.
According to Dikeledi, the cause of the fire is unknown. When the Herald interviewed the family, they had been without electricity since Sunday morning.
They have to go to a friend’s house in their street to cook their meals. They now have to bath in cold water as they cannot heat it.
Dikeledi is grateful to her colleague, however, as he has been a pillar of strength through their ordeal.
She also wants to thank those who have supported and assisted the family.
If you would like to donate clothing or corrugated sheeting or offer any service to the Baby family, please contact Dikeledi at 078 361 0501 or Mokupi at 073 644 2316.
