Seven persons are now homeless after a fire gutted their Second Street, Silvertown, Wismar, Linden home on Friday morning.
The two-storey home belonged to 54-year-old Brenda Temple and her reputed husband Oscar Anthony.
The woman told this publication that she observed fire emanating from the meter attached to the front of her home.
Temple lived on the upper flat of the building along with her 15-year-old daughter and her reputed husband.
She said the lower flat is rented to a female tenant who has three children. Neither of the families were able to save anything from the home, managing only to escape with the clothes on their backs.
Temple, a sweeper/cleaner and her reputed husband, who is visually impaired, have lived in their home for the past 15 years. The woman told this publication that she left for work around 05:30h on Friday morning and returned shortly after 08:00h. In the midst of preparing breakfast, she said she was alerted by her husband who was seated at the front of the home.
“He turned and said, B, B, is what really going on here?” I said, “Tony, look, look is fire! Come out. And I hold he and bring he outside… and after I tried to call people to see what going on, the fire start blazing. It start from by the meter side, by the wire side right at the front where the girl [tenant] was living,” Temple said.
She said the tenant and her children were, however, not at home at the time of the fire. She also said this is a great loss for both families; explaining that all of her furniture, documents, clothes, electrical appliances and household equipment were destroyed.
“I ain’t get to save nothing…The girl downstairs, she ain’t get to save anything either. Is a lot of things I had. I leave and I go and the Regional Chairman give me some clothes for me, my husband and my daughter. All she school clothes, everything burn up,” the distraught woman indicated.
The families are now appealing for assistance following the tragic losses.
“I need some help to get up back some things at least to fix back this place. I’m appealing to people who could donate to see how they can assist,” Temple said.
Officials from the Linden Fire Service, who responded to the emergency call, were able to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other houses.
An investigation has been launched.
