A woman from Ga-Nala stood between the debris of her burned-down house and softly said she had lost everything.

Flames engulfed her house on Crystal Avenue last night, shortly after the power was restored. It was off due to load reduction.

“I lost my ID, car keys, meat, and clothes I sell for an extra income – I lost all my precious memories,” said Yoliswa Maluleka as tears ran down her face.

Her boyfriend, Vernon Tobias, said he could not contain the fire.

SEE THE VIDEO HERE

@witbanknews A woman from Ga-Nala stood between the debris of her burned-down house and softly said she had lost everything. Flames engulfed her house on Crystal Avenue last night, shortly after the power was restored. It was off due to load reduction. “I lost my ID, car keys, meat, and clothes I sell for an extra income – I lost all my precious memories,” said Yoliswa Maluleka as tears ran down her face. #witbanknews #witbank #emalahleni #ganala ♬ original sound – witbanknews

“I waited for a colleague outside to bring the standby car. I was not gone for more than two minutes. When I returned, the living room was on fire.”

He said that within minutes, the fire spread.

SEE THE VIDEO HERE

@witbanknews Another house burned down in Ga-Nala earlier tonight. The community has on several occasions voiced their concern after the firetrucks were removed to Phola. #fire #firetruck #disaster #flames #house #witbank #witbanknews #headlines @Executive Mayor Vusi Nhlapho ♬ original sound – witbanknews

“I phoned the municipal fire department and the fire department from the local mines. The mine’s fire trucks were on the scene shortly afterward. The municipal fire trucks only arrived two hours later,” PR councillor Conrad Conradie said.

The fight about the fire trucks that were moved from the small town to Phola is one Conradie is not going to give up on.

The trucks were removed because the municipality deemed it unsafe for the firefighters due to security reasons.

WITBANK NEWS has on several occasions reached out to the municipality about the removal of the fire trucks.

Previous promises were also made to restore the building, but as of now, nothing has been done.

Nestled between farms, mines, and two power stations and with a growing informal settlement on their doorstep, this Highveld town is a sitting duck, as can be seen from last night’s incident.

The community is up in arms and demands answers from the municipality.

RGa-Nala woman watches as her house burns downhttps://t.co/yMD8K1fjwA#fire #Emalahleni #GaNala #devastation

— WitbankNews (@WitbankN) June 19, 2025

Breaking news at your fingertips … Follow WITBANK NEWS on our website, Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram or TikTok

Chat to us: info@witbanknews.co.za