The Pienaar family is counting their losses after a fire ravaged their Dan Pienaar home on Monday night, 23 November.
Mauritius, who is the pastor of the NG Kerk, said their lights were tripping from about 9.30pm while his wife Zurika and daughter Suzanne were at home, before the electricity went out.
“I phoned the municipality to check if there was any loadshedding scheduled for our area,” he said. “They said they would send out a technician either later that night or the next morning.”
When the family’s dogs started barking at about 10.30pm, Suzanne went out to investigate and saw a glow of light in one of the bedrooms.
The fire destroyed three bedrooms and two bathrooms, with the rest of the house suffering water and smoke damage.
Mauritius has been in Toti and the NG Kerk pastor for 31 years and has been living in the house, a church property, for 25 years.
“We are not material people, but the loss of personal items such as photos and degrees has been painful,” said Mauritius. “We thank everyone for their support and for helping us during this time.”
Toti Fire said when firefighters entered the premises, the fire was already through the roof. The suspected cause was an electrical fault.
