What started as a quiet and peaceful day recently for an Erasmia family, suddenly turned into a nightmare in the late afternoon for the Essa family, leaving them in shock.
The family from Basson Street was having a quiet afternoon this past Sunday (Nov 17), at home as the clouds gathered with the weather forecast showing wind and rain and thus thought it was best and safest to stay at home. So, when the rain started and the cracking of lightning was heard, it was not unexpected and the family remained indoors, taking it easy on the rainy Sunday afternoon. However, shortly before 5pm came a rather unusually loud cracking sound with the bright flash of lightning, which could be seen through the curtains as family members sat in the lounge. This is when homeowner Shazia Essa (31), who was with her husband Zeid Mohammad and children, got a fright and suspected that something was seriously wrong. Shazia immediately peeped through the curtains and that is when she was stunned to see one of the palm trees in front of her house in flames. The family rushed out to see what exactly was happening and then saw that the fire was spreading and that even their nearby wooden gate was in flames. Shazia told the Laudium Sun, “The impact of the lightning strike was terrifying. It ignited the palm tree and damaged our wooden fence in the yard. I immediately called Laudium Disaster Management (LDM) for assistance as we were panicking and afraid that the flames could spread all over even into the house. They responded immediately and fortunately prevented further damage.”
Shazia added, “I trusted the guys from LDM, who are trained professionals, to handle such a situation. Within minutes, they were there and quickly extinguished the flames and secured the area, before things could have gotten worse.” Shazia reflected on the close call at her home, saying, “I want to cut that tree down now, as it is too close to our house and is a serious risk. I would advise anyone with large trees near their built up property to consider removing these before something like this happens again.”
Chairperson of the LDM, Ibraheem Dockrat said, “Dried palm tree leaves are a major fire hazard. Residents are urged to trim these dried branches and leaves on palm trees as these pose a huge fire risk during lightning storms. This follows lightning striking a palm tree in Erasmia on Sunday afternoon, resulting in the entire tree being engulfed in flames within minutes. Fortunately because of the quick reaction of our team and residents, the fire was extinguished before any further damage could occur.”
