Westenburg housefire: rebuilding halted due to lack of report says Muni

"Not only does the family need a structural report, but they also need building plans. These plans were destroyed in the fire" Westenburg Disaster Management Committee

January 26, 2016

Cheryllee Hannam 2 minutes read

Christina Adams smiles as she receives building materials for the rebuilding of her home that burned down on 8 January. With her in front is Koos Adams and at the back are Peter Lawrence, Eugene Lyle, Percy Adams and Seth Da Gama.

POLOKWANE – The Adams family received building materials from the community to help rebuild their home that burned down in John Smith Street on 8 January, but the municipality stopped the family’s building plans.

The fire was caused by an electrical fault and started in one of the bedrooms, which quickly spread through the entire house.

Adams’s house and her neighbour Kartrina Leen’s house is joined. During the fire the wall that joins the two houses was damaged and Leen’s house was also certified by the municipality as unsafe for habitation.

Seth Da Gama, member of the Westenburg Disaster Management Committee, said on Saturday they wanted to start with construction work at Leen’s house to secure her home, but they were stopped by a municipal officer who visited the site.

“The municipal officer said that the family must get a structural report from an engineer and then submit the report to the municipality before any work can be done. We got some quotes and found that it will cost the family more than R5 000 to get this report done. We asked the municipality if they could supply an engineer to do the report and the municipality declined,” Da Gama said.

Not only does the family need a structural report, but they also need building plans. These plans were destroyed in the fire.

“The municipality approves all building plans in the city and keeps a copy of these plans for record purposes. The family asked the municipality for a copy of these plans and it came to light that the municipality lost the copies they had of the Adams house. Now the family must not only hire an engineer, but also an architect to draw up their building plans. Without these documents they will not be able to rebuild their home. The family lost everything in the fire and the only income is Adams’s social grant,” Da Gama said.

Adams, who was very excited when the 5 000 bricks, 27 bags of cement, sand and other building materials were delivered for the rebuilding of her house, was very disappointed when she heard that she will have to wait a while longer for her house to be restored.

Tidimalo Chuene, a municipal spokesperson, said municipal records show plans which were approved in October 1976 and these plans differ from the existing structure on site.

Chuene also said that the office of the municipal manager will investigate the allegations of building plans being lost.

According to Chuene, common practice is that after a house burned down, an engineer sourced by the client must first assess the damage caused by the fire and advise on what actions need to be taken in rebuilding the structure.

“The municipality is aware that the concerned family is not in a position to source an engineer and that is why arrangements were made by the local committee and the municipality to source engineering professionals to urgently attend to the matter. A progress report received today (Thursday) suggests that rebuilding will commence in a short space of time,” Chuene said.

Anyone who can assist the family with the rebuilding of their home can contact Eugene Lyle at 082 316 0960 or Seth Da Gama at 076 981 0421.