BURNING RAGE - Ravensmead man arrested for arson after alleged family feud leaves 40 mense homeless

A RAVENSMEAD man has been arrested for arson after an alleged family feud left 40 mense homeless on Monday.

Uitsig residents were left without a roof over their heads after a raging fire tore through backyard dwellings, destroying 10 structures and leaving families with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

One of the mense affected, Esmeralda Higgins, told the Daily Voice that the blaze was allegedly started by the son of one of the residents, who threatened to burn his father’s house down. 

Higgins explained: “I got a call to say that our house is on fire. According to my brother, the fire started at the back of our house by the people at the back street.

“Ons is almal backyard mense wat hulle huise verloor het. 

“This guy apparently argued with his father saying he was going to burn his pa’s house and he probably did and that’s how the fire escalated.”

Fire and Rescue spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said that the incident was reported at around 3.30pm on Monday.

Carelse said: “Crews from Belhar, Epping and Goodwood were on scene. By 5.10pm, firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze that destroyed an estimated 10 structures and left 40 persons displaced.

“No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is unknown.”

Higgins said that the father of the son did not come to apologise for the damages caused to the other mense. She added the community made a case against the suspect, however the father wants him to come back home.

She said: “Ek is nog baie baie kwaad en baie baie seer gemaak en die ander mense want ons het alles verloor en hoe kan jy nie ‘n saak teen jou kind gaan maak en so 'n disaster veroorsaak. Hy net nie eers die nerve om na ons te kom en vir ons sorry te sê nie.”

While the community has received some donations, Higgins said help has been slow to arrive and that collecting aid has been difficult because the area has been declared a red zone.

She said: “We are grateful for anything, but it’s hard because we can’t move around easily and everything we owned is gone. We just want to rebuild and get our lives back.”

Police spokesperson Constable Ndakhe Gwala confirmed that Ravensmead police arrested a 21-year-old suspect for arson.

Gwala reported: “The suspect allegedly burned down his home in Azalea Avenue, Uitsig and the fire spread to neighbouring houses. He made his first court appearance in the Goodwood Magistrate’s court on Wednesday.”