A soot-covered picture of them in their younger days is all that is left as a reminder of the happy memories they have made in their home over the last 34 years.
Now their home lay in ruin following a devastating fire that destroyed their belongings on Saturday 25 February.
Vivienne and Frederick Majiet are the third families in a matter of weeks to lose their belongings in a residential fire in the Tafelsig area. All three as a result of electrical faults.
Following the 02:00 to 04:00 load shedding block in Tafelsig that morning, a plug point in their granddaughter’s room blew at the return of power to the grid.
This power surge caused a fire that quickly engulfed the room spreading to the rest of the Dolomites Street house. Deep cracks in this room wall are among the evident damage.
“We were asleep, we didn’t even know the house was on fire. My daughter who lives in the separate entrance came to tell us the rooms are on fire,” says Vivienne.
“We were trapped inside. We couldn’t find the keys. When the plug blew the electricity immediately went out. The house was full of smoke. It was dark. I smashed the window to help ventilation,” says Frederick.
In these moments of sheer desperation, they passed their four-year-old grandson through the burglar bars so he could escape.
“At that moment I was thinking about how we could remove the bars. I was going to pull on it to get us out. You know, we put up bars to keep criminals out, and that night it kept us in,” says Frederick.
Reliving the events of that night is clearly emotional for the family.
Showing People’s Post the window he had smashed in the five to 10 minutes they were trapped, they recount how different it could have been if the keys had not been found. But God’s hand covered them, they say.
Luckily, the keys were found and they could escape before any fatalities. Luckily, their granddaughter was not home at the time of the blaze. Vivienne sustained burn wounds to her face and arms.
“At that moment we just ran out of the house. I was in my spaghetti top and underwear,” says Vivienne. Frederick was also in his underwear.
“If I can say one thing, I would love to thank the community. They came out in large numbers to help us. They clothed me, they brought buckets to try and put the fire out. They brought us coffee the next morning. That time of the morning, they came to our aid. I really want to thank them,” says Frederick.
Because the property is City rental stock, the City will rebuild the property.
“Sometimes I still cry at night, because I miss my house,” says Vivienne. “It is still so traumatic for us.”
Ward 82 councillor, Washiela Harris says insurance procedures are underway and the rebuild process could take between two and three months.
“The City advises residents to switch off their electricity completely when they know there is going to be load shedding and switch it back on when power is restored to avoid surges,” she says. “You can look outside and see if the street lights are on to see power is back. Even if you switch it off two minutes before load shedding, this will help. This is the only advice the City can give.”
The Majiets say they never knew anything about surges and never expected anything like this to ever happen. The soft furnishings such as beds and bedding, curtains and clothing contributed to the quick spread of the fire. Their three bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and lounge have been destroyed. With it their TVs, washing machine, other big appliances, cupboards, clothing, food supply and other acquired furnishings have been destroyed. The insurance will not cover this.
- If you can assist the family in any way, call Vivienne Majiet on 078 402 9625.
