Maraisburg family loses everything in fire
Firefighters had to return to the to the scene three times before the fire was finally extinguished.
A Maraisburg family’s plans to visit family in Morocco were derailed when they lost nearly everything they owned in a devastating fire that broke out at their house on September 6.
The family was scheduled to fly to Morocco the next day.
Electricity in the majority of Florida went off shortly after 07:00 on September 6 due to multiple cable faults.
Jo-Anne Taoussi, who has lived in the house on 6th Street for 29 years, says the reality is still sinking in.
“Electricity was out all day, so we went to bed at around 21:00. I was fast asleep and only half aware of my husband getting out of bed. Suddenly I heard him scream and I ran toward the kitchen where he was, only to find it hurled in flames.
“By this time the smoke was very thick, and I rushed back to my bedroom to get to my granddaughter, who was spending the night with us, leaving my husband, who was trying furiously to unlock a security door so we could get out.”
By this time, the Taoussi’s gardener Patrick Ntembu had woken from the smell of smoke and went to investigate.
“Patrick was banging outside our bedroom window. He managed to break the window, from where he lifted my granddaughter to safety.”
Jo-Anne rushed back to her husband, and together they managed to get the door open and escape the burning house. Jo-Anne’s husband was transported to the hospital by ambulance, having suffered burns on his face, arms and on his feet, as well as complications from excessive smoke inhalation. He was released the next day.
According to neighbour Fayrosa Wadvalla, the electricity came on shortly after 23:00, when she heard a loud crack.
“I couldn’t tell exactly where the sound came from so I sent my son to check,” she says.
“When he looked out our front window, he saw smoke and flames coming from the house across the street. I immediately called for my husband and then called the fire brigade.”
Wadvalla says it all happened in a matter of minutes.
“By the time I had called the fire brigade and looked again, the whole kitchen area of the house was burning.
“When firefighters showed up to the house, they could not find the fire hydrant,” she says. “We showed them where it was, but then they could not connect their equipment to it.
“Luckily, a firefighter from a private company was on the scene and he fixed the connection.”
Wadvalla adds that the fire brigade then proceeded to put out the fire and left. My husband told them the fire was not properly out, but they ignored him.
“Barely an hour later, the house was on fire again, and we had to call the fire brigade again. Once again, they came out and put the fire out, leaving the house smouldering.
“It smouldered throughout the whole day, only for it to catch flame again the next afternoon, prompting the fire brigade to come out again.”
City of Johannesburg EMS spokesperson Nana Radebe denies allegations of wrongdoing by firefighters, saying that firefighters received the first call reporting the fire at 00:55 on September 6.
“Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters found Fire Ops on the scene and immediately went to connect to a nearby hydrant, which was functioning very well and had no problems.
“Firefighting was done from the front and the back of the seven-bedroom house through forcible entry. When the crews left the scene at 03:47 there were no visible hotspots as damping down was done for an hour after the fire stopped.
“Around 04:04, EMS received a call about the reignition of the fire but found that Fire Ops went back after the fire was extinguished.
“At around 18:40, another call was received about the reignited fire. On arrival, firefighters found a room with a lithium battery alight. Lithium batteries can burn for long and is a huge cause for reignition.”
The fire left the Taoussi’s house in ruin. Jo-Anne’s small salon, from where she earns her living, and the rest of the house, is completely burnt down.
At the Roodepoort Record’s visit to the house, a delegation from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, from who the Taoussi rent the house, was on the scene assessing the damage.
The Taoussi have received a lot of help from the community, having been put up in a flat at the nearby mosque for the time being.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
