A Gordon’s Bay family lost everything when a fire gutted their home in Berg Street on Saturday (30 April).
The weekend’s incident succeeds the devastating fire which destroyed a heritage-rich Somerset West home and left the Titus household displaced and the patriarch hospitalised with burn wounds (“Historiese woning vernietig,” DistriksPos, Donderdag 28 April).
According to Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Services, an emergency call was received at 08:16 on Saturday. Carelse said three fire engines, a water tanker and rescue vehicle from Somerset West, Strand and Sir Lowry’s Pass were dispatched to the scene, where firefighters ensured all affected people were accounted for and the fire was contained.
“The fire was extinguished after 10:00 and no injuries or fatalities were reported,” said Carelse. He confirmed the house was completely destroyed and five people were displaced.
“The cause of the fire is unknown.”
Kris Offermans from the Cap Ou Pas Cap guest house, who accommodated the family, said the couple and their two young daughters were not yet ready to talk. She called on the Helderberg community to assist with donations.
While DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette’s efforts to get comment from the fire victims were unsuccessful, the husband and father, Zane Zeelie, on Facebook expressed his family’s “gratitude and appreciation to each person who contributed after we lost everything“.
He added: “I honestly never thought that my family would have all the clothes and food that the community has given us [just] two days after the fire. We really have more than enough.”
