More than 27 people, including three babies, have been left homeless after a fire gutted two houses and six hokkies in Bishop Lavis in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The blaze had started in a shack, and quickly spread to four others and the main house on the property at 143 Myrtle Road.
It then jumped to an informal structure on the property behind them, and also burnt the neighbour’s entire house.
Florence Potgieter, 59, has lost everything in the blaze.
She was woken up by her son warning her of the fire and they had to break a window to get out.
She said the fire had started in their hokkie, but she does not know what caused it.
Michael Jordaan, 32, had been the one to get everyone out as the fire spread.
His bedridden mother, Florence April, 62, sat on the kerb since 4am watching all they owned burn to the ground.
Homeowner Enid Powell, 68, said she has no idea what they’re going to do now.
FLAMES: Bishop Lavis inferno
“We lost everything and we have nowhere to go,” she says.
Next door, June van Rooyen, 63, walked through the home she has been living in for 43 years.
The house was gutted and the families were sitting outside.
“I don’t know what to do or where to begin,” says June.
“We were asleep and had someone not screamed at us from the front to warn us, we would be dead. We had already been knocked out by the smoke.”
Fire and Rescue spokesperson Theo Layne said the fire’s origin is yet to be determined.
“Three fire engines, three water tankers and a rescue vehicle with 24 firefighters responded,” he says.
“Two formal dwellings, as well as six wood and iron structures, were destroyed by fire leaving 27 persons displaced. One adult female suffered smoke inhalation and was treated by metro paramedics. The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage.”