WATCH | Devastating Pietermaritzburg flat fire leaves families homeless
The blaze is believed to have started at about 2 am and was extinguished by firefighters. However, it reignited shortly after 6 am
Families have been left homeless after a fire tore through a subdivided flat on Bombay Road in Pietermaritzburg during the early hours of Thursday morning.
The fire destroyed their home and left them scrambling to salvage what little remained.
The blaze is believed to have started at around 2 am and was quickly extinguished by firefighters. However, it reignited shortly after 6 am, engulfing the remainder of the building.
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When The Witness arrived at the scene, distraught residents were searching through the charred remains of the property, desperately trying to recover personal belongings.
Heat could still be felt radiating from the building as residents made frantic phone calls in search of alternative accommodation.
Resident Shazia Muhammad became emotional as she described watching the home she had lived in for 19 years burn to the ground.
“At first, when the fire started at 2 am, we were alerted by a neighbour, and I shouted for my family to run out of the flat,” said Muhammad.
“The fire department arrived and managed to put out the fire, and afterwards we started cleaning up. Our side of the flat was still fine at that stage.”
Then, at around 6 am, we heard one of the men from the road shouting that the front of the flat was on fire again. We rushed out once more and that is when the fire destroyed everything
She said she, her family and their dog escaped unharmed, but they are now faced with the daunting task of starting over.
“We have lost everything. We are trying to find a place to stay. My sister tried to recover some of our belongings, but there was very little that could be saved,” she said.
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Mi7 National Group said its Emergency Medical Services responded to reports of the structure fire at approximately 6:30 am.
“It was established that the initial fire had occurred at around 2 am and was extinguished by the fire department by 4 am, with no injuries reported.
“Shortly after 6 am, the resident noticed that the fire had reignited and requested assistance. The occupant safely evacuated the building and was not injured. Fire department personnel remained on scene extinguishing the blaze,” said Mi7.
The cause of the fire has not yet been established.
