One of the few rooms that survived the fire.
The Rambau family in Protea North lost their family home to a fire on Saturday evening and are requesting the community’s help, reports Soweto Urban.
The fire started when a curtain in a bedroom in the house caught fire after a family member was playing with matches.
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“We just saw [the family member] fetching glasses of water from the kitchen and didn’t think much of it until the fourth glass and we started smelling the smoke,” said a family member, Dakalo Rambau.
The family tried to extinguish the fire but it became an inferno when it met with the accelerants in the house.
The family have sought refuge at a relative’s house in Chiawelo but are asking the community to assist them to rebuild their home and through donations of clothing items, blankets, Rambau says.
The two children in the family go to the National School of Arts and Mveledzandivho Primary School, respectively, and uniform donations would go a long way. No one was injured in the fire, but the family have lost irreplaceable items and memorabilia.
Dakalo Rambau in one of the rooms that was destroyed.
It is important for residents to be cautious when using matches, candles, paraffin, gas or any other alternative energy according to the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi.
Safety tips this winter to keep safe:
1. Keep candles and matches away from children.
2. A child should not be left unattended with a candle in the room.
3. Put your paraffin stove on a flat surface where it cannot fall over or be knocked down.
4. Never go to bed or out while a candle or paraffin is still burning.
5. Always put cigarettes out carefully. Do not smoke in bed.
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