RESIDENTS of the old Woodstock Hospital were left shocked following a fire that destroyed some of their belongings on Thursday, 27 January.
The old hospital, now known as the Cissie Gool House after it was occupied by a group of residents four years ago, is home to over 1 000 people.
House leader Bevil Lucas said the fire started in a room on the third floor, but was quickly contained.
“We discovered a fire on the third floor, where only one family was living. We suspect it could be linked to an electrical fault. When the mum realised that there was a fire she called for help. Fortunately, it was only in one room where the fire could be contained,” he said.
Lucas was also happy about the quick response from the firefighters and disaster management teams.
“They were able to respond timeously as they were on the scene within minutes. We were going to have a house mass meeting so people were preparing for it. We had a very fortunate situation where the leadership could organise people very quickly. That resulted in no one being injured as the kids and elderly were able to be evacuated very quickly,” said Lucas.
Fire and rescue service spokesman Jermaine Carelse said they were alerted to the fire at 6.53pm.
“Three rooms on the third floor, and the contents therein were severely damaged, together with two rooms on the second floor. The first and ground floor sustained water damage as well as damage to the roof. Families had to be evacuated and the fire was extinguished at 8.34pm. No injuries or fatalities were reported,” he said.