Owner devastated after losing pets, possessions in house fire
His pets were trapped inside the house and unfortunately suffocated due to the fire.
“Earthly possessions can be replaced, but I will never be able to see my beloved pets again.”
These were the words of Adriaan Botha (52) whose house burned down in Haarhoff Street, Villieria on Saturday evening.
His pets were trapped inside the house and unfortunately suffocated due to the fire.
Botha has been staying in the house for over 40 years and in the blink of an eye, he lost everything he owned.
The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.
Botha was visiting a friend at the time when he received a call of his house was up in flames just after 19:00.
“I will soon start to clean the place, but some parts of the house and especially the roof is unstable,” he said.
“The garage and the outside building were not damaged. The house can be rebuilt,” he added.
“I will try and work through this pain; the same way I worked through the loss of my brother a few years ago as well as my mother,” Botha told Rekord.
He has no income whatsoever as he had to take care of his mother who was bedridden for 10 years.
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She passed away in 2017.
“I do not have any insurance, because I do not have a stable income.
“I got my wallet with my ID and all the most valuable documents from what remained after the damage.”
Botha is currently staying with a friend who opened his doors to him.
“Thank you for all the phone calls and other methods of contact to reach out to me during this difficult period in my life.
“I am still in shock and very sad, but I still believe God is in control. Maybe it is His way to send me in a different direction in my life,” Botha said.
“Things can change very fast and I will not live forever on this earth.
“I want to add maximum value to the lives of people around me. My story can be a message of hope to those who are going through the same pain and circumstances as me,” said Botha.
Lindi Erasmus, a close friend to Botha, started an initiative to help him get back on his feet in whichever way they can.
“Since I created a post on social media and asked for any clothing, food, bedding and toiletries, we were overwhelmed with all the help.
“We have received a lot of clothing and financial support from the community to assist Adriaan during this difficult time.
“For those who still want to donate anything for Adriaan, they can drop off the necessities at 675, 34th Avenue in Villieria.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank everyone for their contributions,” she said.
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