Delien O’Dell left her house in Willow Street, Eveleigh, 10 minutes before the incident occurred.
Her neighbour contacted her with the horrific news.
The house fire, which originated from the air-conditioner in the living room, caused major damage to the house and basically all her belongings.
O’Dell is a great lover of antiques and nearly her whole house consisted of old furniture with precious significance.
A few minutes after her house caught fire, a nearby hardware store in the area allegedly also caught fire.
According to metro spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, the distribution box supplying Willow Street and surrounding houses was vandalised, and all copper inside the distribution box was removed.
“Due to the theft, the neutral connections were disconnected. All incidents are investigated departmentally, and the same with any claims submitted to Council for damages experienced, investigated by Council’s insurance providers,” says Gadebe.
O’Dell says that the whole area’s power was off since the early midnight hours of Sunday morning.
When she left her house at about 8.50am, metro contractors were allegedly working on the distribution box in an attempt to restore the power.
O’Dell suspects that an electrical fault caused her house and the hardware store to burn down.
She assumes that a high voltage spark went through the cables that supply her house with electricity.
A community meeting was held with the Ward Clr Benno Robinson on Wednesday, August 6, to discuss the problems with the electricity supply on Sunday, August 3, that resulted in damage to electrical appliances and the house burning down.
About 30 couples living in the Eveleigh area attended.
“Cable theft must be stopped, because it could happen again,” says O’Dell.
At the meeting Robinson informed the attendees on the procedure to be followed in order to lodge a claim against the metro.
“They must get help from a professional electrical engineer who can determine the cause of the damage to electrical appliances and the house that burnt down,” says Robinson.
The power to O’Dell’s house was eventually restored on Wednesday, August 13.
O’Dell individually thanks the following individuals and companies who help and supported her through this tough time:
The fire brigade; CMS Security; the chaplains; Mary and John Morreira; Christo and André Greyvensteyn; Leigh-Ann Green; Juanita Smith; Amanda Prinsloo and her family; Zelda and Chris Botha; Anita Snyman; Linda en Koos van Greunen; Braam Myburgh; Clinton and Elmarie Snyman; dr Lauren Morreira; the Kasselman-family; her own family, neighbours and those whose names she accidentally forgot. – @IschkeBoksburg
