Valhalla couple loses everything in house fire
The elderly couple moved into their daughter’s cottage after they lost their home and business before lockdown.
An elderly Valhalla couple suffered a double whammy when they lost their home in a fire on Sunday evening.
The couple, aged 60 and 67, lived in the backyard cottage of their daughter’s home having lost their home and business months before the Covid-19 lockdown.
Adele Jahnsen van Vuuren of the Wierdabrug CPF sector 1 said a neighbour reported the fire to them around 18:45.
She said even though the fire was strong, it luckily didn’t reach the main house.
“The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but we are glad that the family didn’t sustain any injuries,” she said.
Daughter Marita Lotz told Rekord that, fortunately, her parents were out visiting a relative in Raslouw, Centurion when the fire started.
“We lost everything in the cottage,” she said.
“My parents are devastated because all their clothes and items were burnt to ashes.”
She said her parents have had a very hard year.
“My mom has also been getting cancer treatment for the past year and a half, and her last chemotherapy session was two weeks ago,” Lotz said.
She said her parents had to move in with her and her family so that they could all help each other.
“We don’t want them to see the state of the cottage after the fire so they will be staying with the relative for a while then move into the spare bedroom of the house while the cottage is being sorted out.”
Lotz was glad that the cars were moved further away from the cottage because they too could have caught fire.
“The fire left my parents with nothing but the clothes on their backs and their car,” she said.
“My mom has to visit the doctor so that she can get new pills for her and my dad as they lost all of their pills in the fire.”
“My mom joked this morning after I asked how she was feeling. She responded and said the shock from the fire scared the pain away.”
“The pain from her cancer treatment had been severe over the past two weeks,” she said.
Community members have since helped the couple with clothes and other items.
Many people also took to social media to plead to residents to help the family during this tough time.
Lotz said she was grateful to community members for showing support to her family.
She thanked the Valhalla RAVE, Wierdabrug CPF, Angels Amongst Us, community members, Monitor Net and Netcare 911 for being there to help.
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Charles Mabaso told Rekord it took the firefighters an hour to extinguish the flames.
“All the contents of the cottage were destroyed. The integrity of the structure was compromised when cylinders inside the building exploded,” he said.
“The fire was so intense that a metal structure adjacent to the cottage was also destroyed.”
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