Sixty-eight-year-old pensioner, Johannes Thanyane, is currently counting his loses after his home in Maraisburg was swept by a fire which mysteriously broke out in one of the bedrooms.
On 22 December, just a few nights before Christmas, the family was preparing to celebrate this auspicious occasion when a freak fire burnt the house beyond recognition.
Although Thanyane is grateful that his family was able to escape the fire before it engulfed the entire house, he was disappointed with the slow response time of the authorities. He believes that if his emergency had been treated with more urgency, the fire could have been controlled.
“It was approximately 7:45pm. I was in the kitchen, and my wife and grandchildren were in the sitting room watching television when I one of my dogs began barking continuously. I went to investigate and found flames billowing from one of the bedrooms.
When I tried to extinguish the blaze, the bed and curtains caught alight, causing the fire to spread,” he said.
While the family members evacuated the house, Thanyane’s neighbours called for firefighters from Florida. “They said the fire truck was out of service and they’d have to call Brixton firefighters to come and assist,” he said.
A disgruntled Thanyane told us that the fire truck only arrived after 9pm, by which time the house had completely burnt down.
Thanyane explained he lost everything in the house, including documents, clothes for everyone and new furniture. His car was also damaged, and he doubts it will ever function again.
With an estimated R300 000 worth of damages and losses, Thanyane is upset that he is not receiving any help from relevant officials. In addition, he accuses vagrants of rubbing salt into the wound as they apparently loot from the property at night while he is staying with family and friends in Soweto.
“I tried to contact the local councillor, Philip Kruger, but he’s not taking my calls. I wonder if he is even aware of my problem,” said Thanyane.
When we tried to call councillor Kruger, we encountered a recorded message stating that the caller we were trying to reach was not available. However, questions were sent to him via email.
“I need assistance from the officials, because I don’t know what to do and I’m not satisfied with their service,” Thanyane lamented.
Thanyane said, “People have started looting taps and copper wires on the property. I’ve even asked City Power to disconnect the live wires as we try to clear the rubble.”
EMS spokesperson Nana Radebe said she was not aware of the incident and has to probe the matter. When asked about the trucks being out of service, she said, “I know of one instance when the vehicle was out of commission; however, the vehicles are not area-based. We send the vehicle where it is needed because they are under one district.”
Radebe also urged Thanyane to visit the fire department to report the matter.
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