The spotlight is once more on greedy landlords who have moved out of Laudium and are now living in luxury security estates, having now turned their Laudium homes into slums.
This follows a house on Bengal Street, Laudium Ext 3 where more than eight families of foreign nationals, mostly from Malawi, were staying as tenants, being destroyed after catching on fire this past Saturday (August 15) at around 6.30pm. The fire was reportedly caused by an electrical short circuit in the house, which was not built for eight families and was very much neglected, requiring repairs and maintenance. Fortunately all the tenants together with their families managed to escape the blaze and no one was injured, but their belongings were destroyed in the raging flames.
Zuze Andsen, one of the tenant,, who is originally from Malawi, told the Laudium Sun, “I was at work when the fire broke out, while my family was inside their room. I received the news about the fire from my family and immediately rushed home. By the time I arrived, the fire had already become extremely serious and the flames were spreading rapidly throughout the house. There were eight families staying in the house and luckily no one was injured in the
fire. I was extremely tense and worried because when I reached home, I saw the entire house burning. All our belongings were inside and it was heartbreaking to see everything destroyed by the fire. By the time I arrived, all the families had managed to get out of the house and were standing outside. It is difficult for me to say exactly what caused the fire because I was not at home when it started. However, from what I heard from my family members and the other families who were staying in the house, the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit near in the mains box. That is what we have been told, but we cannot confirm the exact cause ourselves. It is a very sad day for all of us because we have lost almost everything we had. We stayed here expecting to have a place where we could live and keep our belongings, but now everything has been destroyed. The fire was so intense that there was very little left inside the house. I have never seen a fire like this in my life. When I arrived, the flames were extremely high and the situation was frightening. We could only stand outside and watch as the fire destroyed our belongings. Fortunately, the firefighters arrived and managed to extinguish the blaze before anyone got hurt. Right now, we are facing a very difficult situation because we have lost everything. We need help to rebuild our lives and to find a way forward. We do not have the belongings we had before the fire and many of us now need basic necessities. I would like to appeal to members of the community and anyone who is willing to assist us. Any help, whether it is clothing, household items or other basic necessities, would mean a lot to all the families affected by this fire. We are grateful that everyone managed to escape safely, but losing everything we owned has been extremely difficult. We now have to start our lives again from nothing, but we are hoping that the community will stand with us during this difficult time.”
Another tenant at the Bengal Street home, McDonald Gatawa, who is also originally from Malawi, told the Laudium Sun, “I was also at work when I heard that something had happened at the house. I immediately made my way back home because my wife and three children were there and I was extremely worried about their safety. I have
two daughters and one son, so my first thought was whether they had managed to get out before the situation became dangerous. When I arrived, what I saw was deeply upsetting. The fire was out of control and was spreading fast throughout the building, with the people who had been staying there already outside. I was relieved to find my wife and children safe, but at the same time I was shocked by the scale of the damage. Everything happened so quickly that there was no opportunity for us to save our possessions. I thank God that my family was protected and that the other residents also managed to leave the building safely. There were several families living there and I can only imagine how frightening the situation must have been for everyone. The fact that nobody was injured is something that I am very thankful for, especially considering how serious the blaze became. We were tenants in the property and had our own belongings and necessities inside. We tried to keep our living spaces clean and maintain basic hygiene, just as anyone would. We never imagined that we would lose our accommodation and possessions in such a terrible incident. I was told that an electrical fault could have been responsible for the fire. What I know is that the consequences have been devastating for everyone who lived there. Our personal possessions have been destroyed and we have been left with very little. Things that we used every day are gone and replacing them will not be easy. For a family that has to work for everything it owns, losing these items suddenly creates a major challenge. The firefighters eventually brought the blaze under control, but the damage had already been done. I have seen fires before, but the size and intensity of this one was frightening. I am just grateful that the people inside were able to get out in time. This is now a difficult period for my family and the other tenants. We need to find accommodation, replace essential possessions and begin rebuilding our lives. We are appealing to people in the community who may be able to assist us in any way. We would sincerely appreciate
support from anyone willing to help the affected families. We have been left without many of the things we need and even small acts of assistance could make a difference. At the moment, our priority is to keep our families safe and find a way to start again after this devastating fire.”
Branden Gindra, also of Bengal Street, told the Laudium Sun, “When I arrived at the scene of the fire, I was shocked by the size of the blaze and how badly the house had been affected. I was aware that several families, mainly foreign nationals, were living at the property, so I was immediately relieved to learn that everyone had managed to escape safely. It is heartbreaking to see people lose their belongings in such a sudden incident. Many of the residents had their clothes, household items and personal possessions inside and I feel very sorry for them. Starting again after losing so much will be extremely difficult. I hope that the Laudium community will come together and assist these families with essential items and other support while they recover from this devastating loss.”
There has been no word from the local Councillors as to whether the Tshwane Council would assist the affected families, from the Council’s Disaster Management Fund.