Residents devastated by complex fire
MORE than 14 people were left devastated yesterday when a fire which started after midnight gutted two units at Furstenburg Terrace.
The fire affected four units at the Nahoon complex and left residents homeless for the night after attempting to douse the fire themselves before Buffalo City Metro firefighters arrived at the scene.
The blaze, which started in an upstairs apartment, gutted both units on the second floor within minutes, leaving the two bottom units water damaged with exposed cracks on the ceilings.
Tanita Lunn, 26, who had been living at the complex since January, said she woke up to a loud sound.
“I heard a loud bang and screams from next door and then I saw the flames approaching our balcony.
“I started screaming at my roommates to wake up and get out of the house.
“Everything happened so fast. Within five minutes it spread and gutted both apartments,” Lunn said.
Still in shock Lunn, who shares her flat with three friends, added that she “kicked into survival mode” and called the fire department.
The young pregnant mother and her two kids, whose home the fire started in, were believed to have been taken to hospital for medical evaluation.
The affected families in the lower ground units were seen packing their belongings and carrying them into the parking bays.
An emotional Christina Branco, 46, who shares her home with her partner, mother and her two children said she was the least affected by the fire.
“I am taking a lot of strain because I won’t be able to find a suitable place at such short notice,” Branco said.
She added that they encountered problems while waiting for the fire brigade to arrive. Two of the residents tried to douse the fire using a hosepipe in a desperate attempt to salvage some of their belongings.
“The hoses actually proved to be too short and couldn’t reach the fire, which was absolutely tragic.
“When the fire department arrived, they were very helpful and did an excellent job, even using their faulty equipment,” she added.
Another affected family, Zuki, 56, and Siyabulela Ngalwa, 59, slept in their vehicle after the chaos died down.
“We knew we had to start clearing out our belongings and it didn’t make sense to find another place to sleep, so we slept in the car.
“The complex agent offered to provide a place to stay while the renovations are being done and then we can move back – but we are only just recovering from the incident. We weren’t as badly affected.”
At the time of writing, BCM spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya had not responded to Dispatch questions. — oreillya@