Durban - A Clare Estate family watched in despair as their home and personal belongings were destroyed when a fire broke out on the premises on Wednesday.
Just hours before the nationwide shutdown, several people renting rooms in the house and the family will have to look for alternative accommodation.
Brian Govender, 73, his wife Ruby, 75, and their grandson were in the house when they heard a neighbour screaming “fire”.
The fire is believed to have started in a wendy house and spread to the main building, raging through the bedrooms, toilet and bathroom.
Govender said he grabbed whatever he could and ran out the house. He has made arrangements to live with his family.
The only joy was when a pet budgie, in its cage, was plucked out from the ruins by Durban firefighter Wiseman Mkhwanazi.
Mkhwanazi said he was inspecting the house to see if anyone was inside any of the bedrooms when he came across the bird in its cage.
By then smoke was already entering the room and the heat from the fire was getting intense.
Tenant Ravi Pillay, the budgie’s owner, was too shocked to speak. On Thursday, he said they were busy cleaning up the house.
Other tenants were wading through the charred remains of their rooms. Robert Mckenzie a spokesperson for KZN Emergency Medical Services said no injuries were reported.
In a separate incident yesterday, an outbuilding in Chatsworth was gutted by fire. The eThekwini Fire Divisional Commander, Nkulu Dube, said the cause of the two fires was not known.
In a seperate incident an outbuilding in Chatsworth was gutted by a fire in Montdene on Wednesday.