Christine de Bruyn, bedridden and on oxygen, burnt to death in her Sheba Road home on the morning of August 22.
Although it ended in tragedy, role players in the community showed that, despite the lack of a fire department in the town, they can stand together during a crisis like this.
De Bruyn’s sister, June, who lives in Italy, thanked everyone who attempted to save her beloved sister’s life.
De Bruyn had a caretaker, Rita Lubbe, looking after her during the day, but she was alone at night. Sakkie Dednam of Hi-Tech Barberton said she was extremely security-aware, which meant when people got onto the scene of the fire, all the windows and doors were closed shut.
Various entities responded to the scene one after the other, including Hi-Tech, the traffic department, Makhonjwa Auxiliary Emergency Services (MAES), a team from the Barberton Mines, the Mbombela Fire Department and more.
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Dednam said the fire had started at about 06:30 – they had received a panic alarm from the house that alerted them. The process of putting it out resulted in the closure of Sheba Road for more than an hour.
“We saw the smoke coming out from the roof. We knew where her bedroom was and had to try and get to her, so we had to get the safety door as well as the wooden door open, which was very difficult. Once the doors were open, the fire was already very bad,” said Dednam.
They only had a skid unit with them at that stage to try and extinguish the fire.
One of the responders to the scene attempted to get through the fire and smoke and to the woman, but to no avail.
Jan Oberholzer, who established MAES, said he founded the service for this exact reason – to assist with fires and other emergency situations. Barberton does not currently have its own fire department, so the team from Mbombela needs to respond.
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As various role players were added to the mix, they continued with the process of systematically extinguishing the fire, but they knew the woman had passed away by this time. Her body was found next to her bed.
“Everything was destroyed. There was nothing left, the place was completely destroyed. The roof had caved in and everything had burnt out,” said Dednam.
De Bruyn was a former employee at Lomati Mill. Sappi Management at the mill expressed its sincere condolences on the loss of a valued member of the Sappi family. “At this difficult time, our hearts go out to Christine de Bruyn’s family and loved ones and we offer our deepest sympathy.”
Lubbe, is devastated by De Bruyn’s death. She had been taking care of her for almost a year now, doing everything she could.
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“She was a dear and beautiful person. I loved her very much, we got along so well.”
June fondly referred to De Bruyn as Stienie.
“You left us so suddenly and tragically, there was not even time for a kiss or a hug. You were everything to me and I will miss you terribly. I know you will be missed by Edna, Jacques and all your friends, especially Denise. You were kind-hearted and bore no malice, and you always helped where you could. Rest in peace, Sis.
“I just want to say a special thank you to our dear friend, Denise, for everything she is doing for us during this difficult time, even in the midst of her own sorrow.”
