Vagrants not good neighbours
Family had to put out a fire allegedly made by vagrants.
A family had to put out a fire next to their house after vagrants allegedly started it.
The Falchi family lives next door to an abandoned power station on Malibongwe Drive in Robindale, near the Robindale Spar, that vagrants have adopted as their home.
”The property is not maintained at all,” said Louise Falchi. ”There is long grass, litter, mice and rats breeding, and people sleeping in the station and starting fires.
”This morning there was an explosion. A passerby saw the smoke and phoned the fire department, but my father-in-law put our hosepipe over the wall and extinguished the flames.
”What will happen if this occurs when we are not at home? A fire can easily spread to the new power box on the pavement. This will be catastrophic.”
According to Falchi this was the second time they had to put out a fire at the station that had encroached on their property. The first fire was about three years ago.
That fire spread to the wall between the station and the Falchi’s residence, and started to burn plants and trees next to the wall until a tree on the Falchi’s property caught alight.
”We have been trying to get the Joburg Property Company to secure the premises with a proper fence for five years now, but no luck.” she said.
Ward 99 councillor Bruce Herbert wished the family well and hoped that the issue would get sorted.
He also said if the public had any problems to contact him.
The Joburg Property Company failed to respond at the time of going to print.
Details: Ward 99 Councillor Bruce Herbert 083 274 3551.
