KROONVALE NEWS - At least 10 people from Kroonvale were left without a roof over their heads after their shack in Mandela Park burned to the ground on Monday afternoon.
Those who used to live in the house were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
"We have nothing left, but we are grateful no one was injured," resident Basil Lomberg (49) said through tears.
The structure was built on the property of a small home. Its youngest residents were a 3-year-old boy and his two brothers, who are nine and 12. Others included 18-year-old Shumeez Williams, houseworker Lena Williams (23), gardener Leon Don (44) and guesthouse employee Lomberg.
It is unclear at this stage how the fire started, and no one was inside the house at the time of the incident.
Shumeez was at a friend's house at around 3pm, when children who saw the fire came running to her for help.
"I ran to the house, but the fire was already so big," she told the Advertiser. "It was sad to see it burn."
As she doesn't have a cellphone, Shumeez ran to a neighbour's house and asked them to call the fire brigade. According to her, community members stepped in and managed to extinguish the fire with water before the brigade's arrival.
Lomberg explained how he was at work in town when he received the call. "They told me my house was gone, and I didn't want to believe them. They had to call me a second time."
Mother Lena was still clearly traumatised when she spoke to the Advertiser about the ordeal. "I have nothing," she said, sobbing. "My children's birth certificates, their books and school clothes, everything is gone."
Other items lost in the fire included ID documents and driver's licenses.
The shack fire in Mandela Park, Kroonvale. Photo: Facebook
For now, those who lost their home will stay in the second house on the property, or in a small structure that Lomberg erected for the time being.
"God will take care of us," said the head of the Williams family Elsie Williams (66). Although she lives in the remaining house, her daughter and grandchildren were affected by the fire.
Ward councillor Ricardo Smith appealed to the community for donations of clothes, blankets and groceries. Those affected also asked for building supplies. Smith can be contacted on 060 363 4208.
Graaff-Reinet SAPS Spokesperson Captain Bradley Rawlinson said on Tuesday that no case had yet been opened surrounding the fire.
The Advertiser was unable to reach the fire brigade for comment in time for print.
These residents say they don't know what the future holds for them, following a shack fire. They are Liwino Williams (12), Lena Williams (23), Leon Don (44), Elsie Williams (66), Basil Lomberg (49) and Brandon Williams (3).
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