Just weeks before Christmas, three families from Atlantis have been left with only the clothes on their backs after a fire ripped through their Wendy houses on Tuesday evening.
The 11 destitute residents in Oostelaan Circle blame the fire on load shedding.
They say the power went out at 6pm, and when it came back on two hours later “a plug sparked” and caused the fire.
Eskom said it has been forced to implement countrywide load shedding for more than a week to avoid a total collapse of the grid which is under pressure.
Mom of four Wilhemiena Kok, 40, blames load shedding.
“The power was out. A short while later the power went on and sparks came from one of the plugs leading to the Wendy house. Then everything burnt,” she says.
Her husband, Barren Kok, 46, says they were just getting back on their feet after a fire gutted their home last year.
“I am heartbroken as we lost everything. A year ago our Wendy house burnt down about the same time.
“We were just recovering and now this. We have nothing.”
The families, ranging in age from one to 56, have to take turns sleeping at the homes of neighbours who are trying to assist.
Fire and Rescue Services spokesman, Theo Layne, confirmed the incident, but could not give the time of the outbreak as the power outage affected their systems.
“Fire and Rescue Services responded to the incident in Oostelaan Circle. Exact times of historical data are currently not available due to the power outage at the time of the incident.”
If you would like to assist these families, please contact Diego at 078 047 6727.