UPDATE: House burns down in Dersley
They were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Maureen Harper, the single mother of two and a widow, lost her entire home due to a fire, on Monday afternoon around 4pm.
The Addie went to see her at her brother’s house in Dal Fouché, where she now resides for the time being.
She says the fire might have started when contractors were replacing a burst geyser in the top section of the house.
A spark may have caused the thatch roof to catch fire in the upstairs playroom.
Her two children, Kayla (7) and Colin (4) were upstairs in this playroom when the fire started.
Rina Nortje, Maureen’s mother who also lives with them, was not there at the time of the fire.
Maureen, who was downstairs in the kitchen, ran upstairs when she smelled smoke.
She chased her children outside when she saw the room was in flames.
Neighbours and by-standers say the flames were higher than the tall pine trees on the property.
When safely outside, Kayla said her two cats were still in the house.
Maureen went back to find them, but had to turn back because there was already too much smoke.
The family believes the cats burned to death.
Because the thatched roof was dry, the fire spread rapidly throughout the house.
“All was gone in 15 minutes.”
Maureen says many of her neighbours phoned the fire department as well as a metro police woman who arrived at her house when the fire started.
The fire department, according to Maureen and by-standers, only arrived an hour after the fire had started.
Maureen lost her husband last year in January when he committed suicide.
She rented the house for two-and-a-half years.
The owner of the destroyed house is currently in America, but Maureen suspects that he’ll be returning shortly.
Maureen is thankful that she and her children are unharmed, but regrets the loss of all her sentimental items in the house.
She also says the contracting company working on the geyser, has already requested her to compile a list of the things she lost, as she does not have any insurance.
“They were very kind,” she added.
About her future plans, Maureen, her mother and her children will continue staying at her brother’s house until they get back on their feet again.
She thanks everyone in the community for all the donations she has already received.
William Ntladi, media liaison officer of the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services, says the response to the scene was within the expected time frame as per operational procedures and standards.
“The call was received at about 4.42pm and our firefighting crews responded immediately to the scene and on arrival the thatch roof house was well alight,” says Ntladi.
“We still like to encourage the community members to utilize our direct contact numbers for such emergencies, which is 011 458 0911.”
Ntladi says the activation of the emergency services can be delayed by people trying to extinguish the blaze themselves or contacting the wrong numbers for emergencies such as the 10111 police emergency number or security companies.
“Subsequent to that, properties are being lost or suffer extensive damage due to fire.”
Karel Pretorius, brother to the owner of the property, congratulated the efforts displayed by emergency services team and the manner in which they handled the situation.
The only information at Ekurhuleni’s disposal is that there were people working on the geyser prior to the fire and they apparently witnessed its origin.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined.
