Clippings bring back memories
THIRTY-SIX years after a fatal fire in which two sisters died at Karridene Caravan Park, a sibling who now lives on the Bluff wishes to look back on what happened to her sisters.
Lillian De Lange still remembers the day she lost her two sisters on 7 September 1977.
Her 17-year-old brother Chris saw a light in a cupboard in the caravan and smelt smoke. Reports suggest that there was a mix-up with the Kingsburgh and Toti fire brigades. Both fire chiefs, Roy Honeysett of Toti and Eddie Ward of Kingsburgh confirmed their brigades were on scene 13 minutes in the case of Toti and 12 minutes in the case of Kingsburgh.
Attempts were made from people at the scene to put out the flames with a garden hose. The caravan was extensively damaged. “I really want to know what happened that day, I was so young at the time of the fire,” said Lillian. At the time Lillian never told her parents that she was traumatised by the fire and only spoke to one of her remaining sisters about the accident.
“When my mother died someone took all the articles. I don’t think the fire departments ever found what caused the fire,” said Lillian.
