Residents help Townsview family after fire

MOFFAT VIEW Sector Three CPF would like to thank all the residents of Townsview who opened their hearts, and sheltered and fed families left stranded after an inferno that engulfed the top floor of a flat in the area on April 21.

The fire is said to have been caused by a faulty gas bottle bought by a woman occupying the only flat that was rented out on the third floor.

READ: WATCH: Block of flats in Townsview engulfed in flames

The woman informed CPF member Dylan Penprase that, after buying the gas bottle at a second-hand goods dealer, she took it elsewhere to be refilled. It was then that she was told there was something wrong with the bottle but the store which sold it to her refused to take it back, claiming there was nothing wrong with it.

INJURED: The teenager said he jumped from the top floor and landed awkwardly on the outside of his hand, causing the injury to his wrist.

“At around 10.30pm I was patrolling the area with my colleagues and suddenly we saw smoke coming out of the flat. We pulled over but as we were walking towards the building, we heard a loud explosion.

“That is when we started to help some of the tenants evacuate the building and we also called for emergency assistance from firefighters and medical emergency services. We later learned that the explosion occurred just when the woman exited the flat, as she saw sparks from the bottle and it wasn’t switching off. Any second later, she could have died,” said Penprase.

A young man who was at the flat visiting his friend said he heard the explosion and, when he heard a woman screaming, went to help. But suddenly the fire was just too much and he had no choice but to jump down from the third floor to the ground. And that, he said, was when he hurt his wrist by landing on the outside of his hand.

ALSO READ: Three-year-old burns to death in Turffontein

The fire itself directly affected only the family occupying the one flat that was rented out on the top floor. The other families were affected as a result of water gushing out from their walls and making their apartments wet and unlivable.

HELP: Moffat View Sector One CPF are very grateful for all the people who assisted.

“The community of Townsview opened their homes for the families affected and gave them a place to stay. Celina and Alcides Da Mota, with Andrea and myself, have been collecting donations and redistributing them to the families.

“We would like to say thank you to Sector Two CPF members for assisting on the night of the fire and the Townsview and Rosettenville Extension community for opening their homes and making donations.

“We are grateful to Tramway Cash and Carry for their donations of food; THAG NPO for their donations of food, blankets and cooked meals for the residents of the flats; and not forgetting Clr Michael Crichton who also organised some donations for the people,” he said.

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