Update: House burns down in Dersley
They left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Maureen Harper, the single mother of two and widow, lost her home and its contents due to a fire, on Monday afternoon at around 4pm.
The Addie went to see her at her brother’s house in Dal Fouché, where she now resides for the time being.
She says the fire might have started when contractors were replacing a burst geyser in the top section of the house.
A spark may have caused the thatch roof to catch fire in the upstairs playroom.
Her two children, Kayla (7) and Colin (4)Â were upstairs in this playroom when the fire started.
Rina Nortje, Maureen’s mother who also lives with them, was not there at the time of the fire.
Maureen, who was downstairs in the kitchen, ran upstairs when she smelled smoke.
She chased her children outside when she saw the room was in flames.
When safely outside, Kayla said her two cats were still in the house.
Maureen went back to find them, but had to turn back because there was already too much smoke.
The family believes the cats burned to death.
Because the thatch roof was dry, the fire spread rapidly throughout the house.
“All was gone in 15 minutes.”
Maureen says many of her neighbours phoned the fire department as well as a metro police woman who arrived at her house when the fire started.
The fire department , according to Maureen and by-standers, only arrived an hour after the fire had started.
Maureen lost her husband last year January and had been renting the house for two-and-a-half years.
The owner of the destroyed house is currently in America, but Maureen suspects that he’ll be returning shortly.
Maureen is thankful that she and her children are unharmed, but regrets the loss of all her sentimental items in the house.
She also says the contracting company working on the geyser, has already requested her to compile a list of the things she lost, as she does not have any insurance.
“They were very kind,” she added.
About her future plans, Maureen, her mom and her children will continue staying at her brother’s house until they get back on their feet again.
She thanks everyone in the community for all the donations she has already received.
William Ntladi, Media Liaison Officer of the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services, says the investigation on the cause of the fire is still being concluded.
See the previous article
