VIDEO: Fire guts house during load shedding
NORTHWOLD – A candle lit during load shedding results in a fire destroying a house in Sanet Road.
The Dacey family’s home in Sanet Road, Northwold went up in flames on Valentine’s Day at 7.30pm.
The blaze is believed to have been caused by a candle. Five people were in the house at the time of the fire and they struggled to control the fire. The family luckily managed to escape the blaze safely.
At the time of the fire, there was load shedding in the area. Owners of the house Elriva and Patrick Dacey had lit about three candles after the electricity had gone out.
“My husband [Patrick] saw a light and thought it was the electricity that had come back on, but then he smelt the fire and screamed, ‘Fire get out!’, we then ran out and screamed for help from our neighbours,” Elriva said.
She added that the community was very helpful and they are really grateful. “A few days ago I took out my mother’s skirt because it was so hot, I am so happy that it is part of the washing that we have, I still have a part of her at least,” Elriva said.
Neighbour Gerrie Jansen said, “They [Dacey family] came to our gate for help, so we went to help and another neighbour tried to extinguish the flames but it was already out of our control. It took about 30 to 40 minutes for the fire fighters to arrive.’’
A neighbour from two houses down, Ivan Penny explained that he had seen some sparks flying onto his neighbours thatched roof, “My gardener and I immediately jumped the fence, we were shocked, but we managed to stop the roof from catching alight. The way the community came together to help has really reinstilled my faith in humanity.’’
An emotional Patrick said, “What hurts me the most is that we have lost all of our memories, this home gave us a place of refuge and security. My children grew up here. It is all gone now it will never be the same, what we had has gone up in flames.”
He urged people to take care when using candles during load shedding.
WATCH VIDEO:
