YWP family loses more than belongings after house fire

A YELLOWWOOD Park family has lost all their belongings in a fire which ravaged their Barbet Road home on Friday night, 17 January.

The family, two young men (aged 22 and 24), a mother and grandmother (88) were in the house when the fire started. The grandmother, who could not walk, was taken to a neighbour’s house while they tried to contain the flames and sought assistance.

Mother, Thokozani ‘Tam Tam’ Fihiya said: “I was in the lounge when the fire started in my bedroom at about 7.30pm. When I entered the room, I saw the flame on a continental pillow, which was on the floor next to the plug point and side pedestal. Immediately I screamed for help and my eldest son was moved my mother to the kitchen. We tried to contain the fire and call for assistance at the same time. When we saw we couldn’t contain the fire, we moved my mother to one of the neighbour’s. The alarms were going off but no response was received from the security company. The fire department only arrived on the scene at about 9pm.”

Fire department division commander of South Durban, Nelson Pillay said: “We received the call on Friday night and immediately dispatched two trucks. The fire started from the front bedroom and continued towards the back. It took us about 30 minutes to contain the main fire and another hour to distinguish the hotspots. No injuries were reported and the fire safety department is investigating the possible cause of the fire.”

“We as a family thank the community of Yellowwood Park for their love and support, it was beyond expectation. Everyone in Yellowwood Park is a family. I thought we were alone but now I know we’re not,” said Fihiya. “I thank Clint from Kombat Force for all his efforts and running around he did for us. It’s a difficult time for us and in the long run we will need counselling. I’m also grateful to my sons for their bravery in attempts to doust the fire.”

CPF chairman, Gavin Hegter called on the community, through social media, to assist the family. The call was echoed on other community chat rooms and sparked an unprecedented response. Community members donated clothes, food, small furniture and other possessions to the family. Montclair Spar, The Lounge and Kombat Force made contributions to help the family. “We as the CPF sent out a call to the community to help assist the family. The community banded together as one and assisted the family with clothes, food and many other items,” said Gavin.

The family has unfortunately lost more than their home over the weekend as the grandmother was found dead on Sunday morning. The family is staying with relatives in Woodhaven.