LUCKY Malahlela watched in horror as the fire burnt his business and home to ashes on Wednesday, 18 May.
The 35-year-old from Soshanguve block H, Tshwane, lost his secondhand tyre business, worth over R60 000, and his family of 11 was left with nothing.
Lucky told Daily Sun that he and his family believed the fire was caused by a faulty electricity pole connected to their home. He said even his Nissan Cabstar, which he used to collect secondhand tyres, was damaged.
He said the fire started in the morning and because he had a pile of tyres in the yard, it took Tshwane Emergency Services hours to put it out. He said it would be difficult to start over again. “At the moment, we don’t have any plan. We are still shocked,” he said.
Family member Lerato Sibanda (21) said she woke up that morning to get ready for school and there was no power.
At first she said she thought it was load shedding.
“When I checked outside, the electricity pole was on fire. We lost everything,” she said.
Lerato said they needed accommodation, food, clothes and other household items.
She said all their IDs and documents were destroyed in the fire.
Tshwane Emergency Services spokesman Charles Mabaso said they received a call at about 5am and when firefighters arrived at the scene, a house with six rooms was on fire, with tyres in the yard also burning.
“Unfortunately, the whole house burnt down and only the garage remained partly affected,” he said.
Mabaso said no one was injured as a result of the fire.
