A Nellmapius home was razed to the ground in a candle accident on Monday morning.
According to the Mothlala family, it had to resort to candles following a three-day power outage in the area.
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Rebecca Mothlala (41) said she was on her way to work when she received a call that her house was on fire.
She rushed back home but, unfortunately, “everything I had worked for was already gone when I got there”.
Angry residents were furious with the Tshwane metro and demanded answers from local councillor Thabo Ntlatleng “because this is not the first time something like this has happened because of a power outage”.
“We want to know when will these power outages end,” they asked.
“We have to prevent another family from becoming the next victim.”
Mothlala said were it not for outage, her home would still be standing “the way I left it this morning”.
The distraught a mother of three said she lost had everything she owned.
“I think the damage is more than R500 000.”
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Mothlala said she had renovated her home of more than 10 years from an RDP house to the six-roomed building her family called home.
“All the furniture, clothes, all important documents like my and my children’s birth certificates and electronic appliances … burnt down to the ground.”
She said her neighbours had tried to help yet could do nothing but watch as they waited for fire fighters to arrive.
“By the time the fire fighters had put out the fire, everything I had worked for all my life was gone,” said Mothlala.
“All I have is what I am wearing now… I do not know where or how to start all over again.”
Ntlatleng said he was disturbed by the family’s misfortune and blamed the outage on cable thieves.
These criminals see the opportunity to help themselves to cables, but the people who suffer are the community,” he said.
“We have signed a petition and handed it over to the metro – we demand and upgrade to the power station in the area to avoid outages in the future.”
He said he had been to the site of the cable theft and could assure the community that workers had been there all night, fixing the problem.
“When I received the call about this house being on fire, I was on-site with the electricians,” he said.
“I have contacted social workers and we will take it from there to see how we can help the family.”
When Record visited the area, power had been restored to all affected areas but extension 2.
Resident Patricia Phora said three years ago her house had also burnt down during a power outage.
“I am still struggling to rebuild my life to this day,” she said.
“A former ward councillor has since promised to help rebuild the house. I am waiting for him to tell me when.
“But unless the problem is solved, it will not be much use because this will happen again … to me, to another family – it’s just a matter of time.”
The police had to be called to restore the calm.
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