Victims of the 9/11 house fire appeal for donations
The Reiger Park family who lost a family member and all their worldly possessions when fire ripped through their three-room building, on September 11, are now appealing for help to kick-start their lives again.
The tragic house fire, in Lily Street, killed 55-year-old Colleen Rondganger and displaced a handful of family members – after it suddenly broke out in the home shared by 25 people, including children, the youngest of whom is aged almost a year.
The fire resulted in reduced circumstances for the surviving family members, who are now struggling to recover from the loss of all their belongings consumed by the flames – as well as the shock of seeing their family member being burned alive.
A grieving family member, David Smith (66), told this publication that the disastrous inferno has turned his family’s world upside down in the blink of an eye.
He and his daughter, Nicole Solomons, stated that they are now desperately in need of food, clothing, building material, furniture, money and other necessities.
While trying to rescue his mother (Colleen Rondganger), who was trapped in one of the rooms engulfed by the blaze, Nicole’s brother, Edward Solomons, reportedly sustained third-degree burns that require a skin graft.
On Monday, September 19, he was still recovering in hospital.
The blaze also tragically killed two of the family’s dogs, after they were trapped inside the building.
The affected family has since moved in with a long-time friend, Julie Plane, following the devastation.
Plane, whose house is just around the corner, said she’s been assisting the family since the day of the blaze.
Rondganger was laid to rest on Sunday, September 18, at the cemetery next to the Boksburg Licensing Department.
To donate something, individuals and businesses can contact the Reiger Park CPF chairperson, Pastor Francis Coetzee, on 083 647 8336. -@FanieFLK
To read more about the tragedy click on this link https://bit.ly/2coL0sO
