Bonteheuwel fires leave 36 homeless
Two fires in Bonteheuwel have destroyed seven wendy houses that 36 people called home.
Firefighters from Epping and Belhar responded to a fire in Blackberry Street, at around 1.30pm, on Sunday November 13.
The fire, the cause of which is so far undetermined, was extinguished an hour later, but it destroyed six wendy houses and left 30 people displaced, according to City Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Jermaine Carelse.
There were no reports of injuries of deaths.
Three days later, on Wednesday November 16, at about 7pm, firefighters responded to a wendy house alight in Assegaai Avenue, Bonteheuwel. There were no injuries, but a couple and their four children were displaced.
“The crew managed to extinguish the fire just before 8pm,” said Mr Carelse.
Carmelita Hanekom, who lived in the wendy house, said that she and her husband had heard someone scratching at the back of their home and when her husband had gone outside to investigate, he had found a piece of burning plastic sheeting under the wendy house. His son had then run outside to warn them that the fire had already spread inside.
“He ran in to save the other three children and got them out. My whole place burnt down. What must I do now? I have four children. We are staying with family now, sleeping on the floor in their lounge. This is my second home that burnt down. I have been on the housing waiting list for five years now. We don’t bother anyone in the community. I don’t have fights with anyone so why did they do this to my house?” she said.
Bonteheuwel ward councillor Angus McKenzie said that in both cases no one knew what had caused the fires. He urged residents to not leave fires unattended.
“These residents have lost everything in the fires, nothing was salvageable. The families are completely devastated and are residing with family members. This is fire season so residents need to take precautions and make sure that there no illegal connections,” he said.
Mr McKenzie added that donations for the families could be dropped at the Bonteheuwel sub-council office, in Kiaat Avenue.
