Several house fires occured in Oberholzer last week.
Van Riebeeck Street was chaos when three houses started burning on July 12. Flames could be seen on the roof at Blyvoor Street 1 at around 12:00, which is on the three-way corner with Van Riebeeck and Oranje Street. The thatched roof of the house was quickly engulfed in flames.
According to the Mrs Simoné Naudé, she was in the house when the fire started. After she tried in vain to call the Fire Department, both she and her husband, Daniel, pleaded for help on a social media emergency group. Daniel was on his way back from Johannesburg when the fire started.
She then fled from the house with their six-week-old baby. Luckily their five-year-old was at nursery school at the time.
Concerned community members and neighbours also notified Gladiator Community Protection, who arrived at the scene within minutes.
Community members helped to force the gate open to rescue the family’s dogs.
Unfortunately, the fire soon spread to a tall palm tree in the yard and, due to strong wind, ignited the thatched lapa of a house in Van Riebeeck Street. From there the fire spread to the house next door.
Three fire trucks from the Merafong Fire and Rescue Services as well as fire services from the mines attended to the fire. Many helpers jumped in with hoses to stop the fire from spreading to other neighbouring homes.
According to Nico Kahts, the manager of Emergency Management Services in the West Rand District Municipality, firefighters at the base in Carletonville officially received the call at 12:08.
“Our first apparatus was dispatched at 12:09, arriving at the scene at 12:15. We immediately implemented an exposure protection tactic to prevent the fire from spreading to other homes. Fortunately, only three thatch roof lapa’s were affected,” says Kahts.
It’s understood that it took longer for the firefighters at the base to get the official call due to the fact that the phone lines at the 107-emergency call centre in Krugersdorp had been stolen. This is also the reason why the phone lines did not work. The water supply in the street was also initially inadequate, necessitating the use of additional fire engines to maintain a steady flow of water. The windy conditions caused embers to spread quickly, igniting nearby structures and making containment efforts more difficult.
“There were no injuries reported, but the initial property sustained significant damage. The Fire and Rescue services wish to thank all role-players who assisted. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation,” says Kahts.
Ten people were treated at the scene by paramedics of Gauteng EMS. Many of them were treated for smoke inhalation.
The Carletonville SPCA had to rescue the dogs that were evacuated from the first house when the thatched front roof of the house that they were taken to also caught fire and they were not safe there either. Brave SPCA members also rescued chickens and a small pet bird from the yard of the house where the fire started. The tragedy extended beyond these houses as another house burned in Bloukrans Street the day before. This house was also badly damaged and the cause of the fire is being investigated.
According to Mrs Naude camera footage from a neighbour’s house shows that the fire already started at 11:23.
The investigation into this fire has since showed that it did not start at the solar panels on the roof of the house.
