Witpoortjie flat fire: First look inside
The Delports can claim damages only if the fire was caused by something beyond their control.
Lizette Delport took her first steps into her now fire-damaged flat after a fire had broken out during the midmorning of Tuesday 1 October.
“I cannot believe that this is what is left.
“I just thank God that my children were not in the flat at the time and that they weren’t here to witness the flames.”
Delport said that through the entire Tuesday night they spent at a family friend’s house, her son (4) repeated the words “mommy, your flat burned” .
On the morning of Wednesday 2 October Delport met with Sanlam senior assessor Annette Mulder and building manager Jaco Reichel to assess the damage to the flat.
“I was able to salvage most of my own clothes because the fire didn’t affect my bedroom as much,” a relieved Delport told the Record.
The Record found everything else in the flat in obvious disrepair and heavily affected by the smoke.
Annatjie and Jan Lewis, residents of flat 11, were the first “to do something about the fire”.
“I knew where Lizette kept a key for her daughter, and we were able to retrieve it.
“My husband and a few other residents then jumped in to try and extinguish the flames,” Annatjie later said.
The Lewis couple’s flat also was affected as the wall separating flat 11 and flat 12 started cracking during the fire.
It is alleged that the fire started in the living room and spread to her daughter’s (16) bedroom. The son’s play area also was destroyed, with the bathroom and kitchenette suffering the least damage, despite the walls being left blackened.
All but one window pane had burst. In the daughter’s bedroom there were a bowl of leftover macaroni and some (now) grey photos on the wall. Her blue and green bedding still brightened up the room.
“Her dress for the matric farewell wasn’t burned and it is soaking in StaySoft,” Delport said, referring to the dress her daughter was supposed to wear to the matric farewell she was invited to attend as a companion on the Wednesday evening.
Delport does not have insurance on the personal belongings and furniture inside the house, and Mulder assessed the damage to the flat and building on behalf of the building’s owner.
“I would estimate, but I will confirm later, about R150 000 in damages to the property,” Mulder told the Record, “and I’d argue that about R250 000 in personal belongings and furniture were lost in this fire.
“She will have to prove that the cause of the fire was beyond her control and that the owner of the building is liable for her losses if she hopes to claim anything.
“In such a case she’ll claim damages from the owner personally for the furniture and personal belongings that were lost.
“We are waiting for the fire report from Johannesburg EMS to complete the claim process we’re starting today,” Mulder told the Record.
Johannesburg EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi later told the Record that “the preliminary investigation suggests that there might be an electrical fault in the building”. Despite their rumoured visit to the residence on Wednesday morning at 10am, Johannesburg EMS has not conducted a follow-up investigation yet.
See photos of what’s left in the flat at:
Witpoortjie flat fire: Inside (1)
Witpoortjie flat fire: Inside (2)
