Woodlands house fire leaves more than 20 homeless

A WOODLANDS house which was apparently home to more than 20 people was gutted by fire on Saturday afternoon, 16 June.
The Carmichael Place fire, which ward 64 councillor Gavin Hegter believes was due to an electrical fault, displaced the families who had been living there, including children aged from three months to three-years-old.

“I have requested the city’s disaster management department to come out and assess and offer assistance to the affected people,” he said.

Neighbour, Jeannette Combrink said her family were having a braai that afternoon when suddenly a black plume of smoke filled the sky. “I was shocked to look up and see a smoke cloud. My husband immediately called the fire department and in no time, they were there. Thank God nobody was injured. We were worried that the wind might put neighbouring houses in danger, but the fire was extinguished in no time,” she said.

Brenda Neal, who was at the scene on Saturday, said the fire department worked quickly to extinguish the blaze, which left only four of the rooms with slight damage but completely gutted the other rooms, where everything was burnt and affected by water damage.

READ: Montclair family loses everything as house burns
Commenting on the number of people who lived in the house, she said it had been divided into rooms including outbuildings in which people lived. “Our thanks go out to everyone who assisted and to Jeannette for calling on the community to help. The worst affected room also housed a baby, so if anyone can assist with clothing, the family would be grateful,” said Neal.

After the fire was snuffed out, and when calm had been restored, she walked into the burned home. She said the occupants of the house stood around in silence, dumbfounded.

“They were still in shock at the devastation that had hit them. In minutes, they lost everything,” she said.

READ: Bleak future as sisters lose home in Montclair fire
Combrink and other neighbours rallied together to collect clothes and make food for those who were left without a roof over their heads and probably lost everything in the fire. “We collected and are still collecting clothing, we made sandwiches and cooked a hot meal for them. They are still in need of assistance,” she added.
If you can donate anything at all, the drop off point is number 21 Carmichael Place Woodlands and the contact person is Edward.
Radesh Sunnylall and his fire fighting team who managed to contain the fire quickly, which helped to save some tenants’ rooms, were thanked by the communtiy for their hard work.

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