“The children were still asleep when we quickly drove to my sister’s work. As we were driving back, I saw the smoke. When we got closer, I saw that it was our house on fire,” says Ms Faith George. The house in Koring Street in Fochville belongs to her sister, Ms Simone George. Most of it burnt down on Friday. They and their other sister, Leigh-Anne and their children, lived in the home they shared with their eight dogs, eight cats and a hamster. Unfortunately, one of the dogs, a Boston terrier cross who had been in Faith’s bedroom, and the hamster died in the fire. According to the neighbour, Mrs Charmaine Vosloo, the fire spread rapidly. “The electricity was off because of load shedding. When I looked through my window shortly after 07:00, I just saw smoke,” she told the Herald. Vosloo immediately called a community leader, Mr Braam Nel, who contacted emergency services and started asking for help on social media.
Almost everything the family owns was either burnt or damaged by the water from the firefighters who fought the fire. Simone said only two Bibles, which were in separate rooms, were inexplicably untouched by the flames. The firefighters quenched the blaze and, within hours, good Samaritans had turned up with all sorts of goods for the family, including food for the pets. The municipality’s traffic chief, Mr Philip Olivier, also brought warm blankets. Although the family were offered a temporary place to stay at Crocodilian, they opted to rather move in with a relative in Bosman Street as the cats could go there too. At the time of the newspaper going to print, it was still not clear what had caused the fire. However, the sisters and their neighbour suspect that a power surge may have damaged the electrical wiring. The electricity at the houses in the area had gone on and off several times before the fire started. Luckily, the insurance payments were up to date. During the time of the Herald’s visit, an official of the West Rand’s disaster management services assessed the damage and investi- gated the cause of the fire. “We are just glad that none of the children was injured. Thank you isn’t enough to express how grateful we are for all the help we received. We really appreciate everyone’s assistance,” says Simone. 
