Debris is all that remains of Llewellyn Lundall’s Sophiatown home of 15 years.
“I was woken up by the sound of breaking glass,” said Llewellyn Lundall, whose house was engulfed in flames on 20 October.
As the 61-year-old attempted to follow this odd sound, he realised the whole house was covered in smoke, which immediately overwhelmed him.
“I made my way to the kitchen in an attempt to get out but when I got there I realised I had locked the door and I didn’t remember where I put the keys,” he said.
As more smoke seemed to gather, Lundall made his way back to the bedroom.
“When I looked through the bedroom window I saw the sitting room was engulfed in flames and that’s when I realised I had a big problem.
With no other exit route, Lundall was trapped in a house being quickly ripped apart by a vicious fire.
“I broke the window but I couldn’t go out because of the butler-bars so I started calling for help,” he recalled.
Listening to the sound of the fire eating away at his property, the early morning darkness together with the thoughts of dying a painful death terrified Lundall.
“I thought no one could hear me because of the time. It felt like ages of calling out for help,” he retold.
As Lundall felt like he was stuck in limbo, he heard a voice calling from a distance.
“I heard a faint voice asking where I was and as time went by the voice came closer,” he said.
The voice was that of Lundall’s immediate neighbour Marius Basson.
“My sister in-law woke me up saying there was a fire. I initially thought it was a fire in our house and then I noticed it was next door,” said Basson.
In the spirit of being neighbourly, Basson rushed to Lundall’s rescue.
“I heard him say ‘someone please help me… help… help’ and I screamed to him to break the window,” said Basson.
Upon arrival Basson used his tools to cut out the butler-bars.
“When I was at the house, [Lundall] was unresponsive to my calls, I think he was passing in and out but he finally managed to respond,” he said.
Lundall asked for his dog to be rescued and he followed with his laptop.
“As soon as we went out, that specific room went up in flames,” added Basson
Lundall was taken to Helen Joseph hospital where he spent 72 hours being treated for smoke inhalation and a deep cut he sustained while breaking the window seeking an escape route.
Investigators of the cause of fire are underway.
