Moot family lose everything after their house was gutted by fire
"We inhaled some smoke, fortunately we did not have to get any medical treatment."
The Viviers family lost all of their belongings in their Moot home during a house fire caused by an electrical fault on Friday afternoon.
Anastasha Viviers said that the family was outside when they saw the house go up in flames around 15:00.
“We saw smoke coming from the back side.
“As soon as we realised what was happening, the next door neighbours came to assist to extinguishing the fire,” said Anastasha.
Anastasha, her husband, their five- and eight-year-old girls and two-year-old son resided at the home.
“We inhaled some smoke, but fortunately we did not have to get any medical treatment.”
The family is currently staying with Anastasha’s brother.
“We don’t know what we would have done without the community members and especially my brother who opened his house to my family.
“We are just devastated as I lost my job last week, and the belongings we lost can never be replaced,” she said.
They are in need of kitchenware, bedding, towels, toiletries, food, groceries, furniture and clothes.
“These are some of our greatest needs. We want to say a big thank you for everyone’s calls and support.”
Anastasha may be contacted on 081-822-3955 for those who want to support the family financially or with donations.
Tshwane metro emergency services spokesperson Charles Mabaso said that they were seeing an increase in fires and it was a major concern to the emergency services.
“If the housekeeping is not in order, the chances are that the fire from outside might spread to a house.
“Also proper housekeeping goes inside the house as well, with overloading electrical plugs a danger.
“Members of the community or households should ensure that electrical plugs are not overloaded as it might lead to a fire,” he said, adding that all the electrical equipment should be properly insolated to prevent a fire.
“Broken insulation or wires which are not properly insulated are a fire risk. Such households are encouraged to make sure they are secured.
“The issue of space heaters such as gas heaters, paraffin, electrical heaters as well as other equipment used for heating must be used in such a way that they are kept away from any material that can catch fire. They must be monitored at all times.”
Mabaso urged family members not to leave children unattended with electrical equipment or space heaters.
“If there is electrical fault or power cuts, it is advisable to switch off all equipment during this periods.
“Candles should be placed in a place where they would not cause fire, should a candle happen to fall over.
“It will be a good idea to purchase a fire extinguisher at home.
“We advise households to keep a bucket of water in a place easily accessible or a bucket of sand to be able to put out fire at its earliest stages.
“Take these safety measures into account and keep safe this winter,” he said.
*Please note this article has been amended.
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