Eersterust family left destitute after house fire

A family in Eersterust has been left destitute after a devastating fire broke out late Tuesday night.

“I was just getting ready to go to bed. The lights went off because of load-shedding and came back on shortly after. I heard a loud pop and I started screaming ‘Fire! Fire!’,” said Joyce Davidson, the owner of the house.

Davidson, an elderly woman who stays on 267 Willie Swartz Street said she started renting out structures in her backyard to tenants.

She immediately started seeing flames and called for help.

“I think one of the tenant’s two-plate stove short-circuited and it might have caused the fire. There was just a lot of popping in the backyard and the fire spread quickly,” said Davidson.

Davidson said the fire broke through her bedroom window and destroyed most of her belongings.

The two families residing in her backrooms also lost all their belongings in the fire.

She said she was thankful for the community’s efforts in trying to put the fire out and help them.

“All my neighbours came out with their hosepipes and also tried to get the fire-brigade to my house faster,” said Davidson.

The Tshwane EMS were on the scene to fight the blaze.

“We received the call at 20:32 and it was reported that a house was on fire. Upon arrival, we found three shacks on fire in the backyard. We managed to extinguish the fire. No injuries were reported,” said Charles Mabaso, spokesperson of Tshwane metro emergency services.

The community has also been trying to raise funds for the two female tenants with young kids by sharing posts on social media.

Davidson said they were all still traumatised by the fire but happy to be alive.

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