TEN luxury thatched riverside mansions were destroyed by fire outside East London yesterday morning.
No-one was injured in the blaze which, fanned by a south-westerly wind, ripped through the exclusive Viskop Chalets resort.
Most of the owners live in Gauteng and were away when their holiday homes were destroyed.
The resort is located at the mouth of the Chefana river mouth, previously known as Cefane.
This comes just five weeks after what used to be the upmarket Michaela’s Restaurant in Chintsa East was reduced to ashes overnight while being revamped into an upscale holiday residence.
The devastating blaze is believed to have started at a double-storey house in the second row of homes from the river and then spread rapidly to 10 others.
The homes are valued at between R4-million and R8-million, according to residents.
Gloria Thompson, who lived in the cottage of a house owned by her daughter Simone and son-in-law Rex Tomlinson, was in shock as she surveyed what was left.
“I was at home when the electricity went off. The lift was not working so I ran up the stairs and saw flames right up in the roof.
“I saved a few of my chairs and my TV, otherwise everything in my daughter’s house is gone,” said the distraught pensioner, frantically looking for her dog.
Residents, fire-fighters, construction workers, Chintsa East residents and a fire-fighting crew from Olivewood Golf Estate banded together to fight the flames, move cars out of harm’s way and douse roofs with water in a valiant effort to save vulnerable properties.
About 12 houses survived the inferno, which has been compared to the fire that tore through St Francis Bay in November 2012.
A distraught resident who lost her oceanview, six-bedroom home and was too traumatised to give the Daily Dispatch her name was packing overlockers and sewing machines into her car while flames still licked at the remains of her home. “All I could save were my paperwork, Bibles and sewing machines because that is how I make my living. I have lived here for 14 years and this is too much for me.”
Her domestic worker, who also declined to give her name, said she was cleaning the house when she saw smoke coming from properties near the river. “We saw the fire burn all the homes and we started to spray our thatch, but all I could save was a school uniform.”
Viskop developer Douglas Kunhardt, who bought the scenic land in 1984 and started developing it in 1992, said the exclusive estate was “a 30-year dream”.
“The owners are phoning us now and there are a lot of tears. I really feel for them. Many were organised to spend Christmas here,” said Kunhardt, who lives on the estate and helped co-ordinate the fire-fight. He said he was investigating the cause of the disaster.
Resident Keith Snyman, who owns a home right on the water and helped push his neighbour’s Land Cruiser away from his burning house, said he heard domestic workers screaming at about 8.30am and ran out of his home to see the Tomlinson home blazing.
“The flames were about 30 to 40 foot in the air, but once one of these houses is on fire no amount of water would have put it out. Within an hour all eleven houses were burning.”
Cheryl Friederichs, who also owns a home on the river and described the fire as an inferno, said she thought her home was on fire when she saw the blaze while on her way back from a walk. “I just feel so sorry for everyone that’s been affected by this disaster.”
Holiday home owner Mickey McLellan said he was at work in East London when he received a call about the fire.
“It was like walking into a movie. It was devastating watching it all unfold in front of my eyes.”
McLellan’s house was spared.
Thandi Salzwedel, who lives in a flatlet at her parent’s home, was looking for four missing cats and a Boxer called Maggie after her flatlet was destroyed.
The main house was saved thanks to a 24-man crew from Olivewood Golf Estate, who loaded up their fire-fighting equipment and rushed to help. “When I arrived from work it was like walking into the valley of hell. My parents are in Indonesia and I have told them what happened.”
Amathole District Municipality spokesperson Siyabulela Makunga said ADM sent four fire engines, while another was dispatched from BCM. He said the cause of the fire would be investigated. — hollandsb@dispatch.co.za
VIDEO: INFERNO
No-one was injured in the blaze which, fanned by a south-westerly wind, ripped through the exclusive Viskop Chalets resort.
Most of the owners live in Gauteng and were away when their holiday homes were destroyed.
The resort is located at the mouth of the Chefana river mouth, previously known as Cefane.
This comes just five weeks after what used to be the upmarket Michaela’s Restaurant in Chintsa East was reduced to ashes overnight while being revamped into an upscale holiday residence.
The devastating blaze is believed to have started at a double-storey house in the second row of homes from the river and then spread rapidly to 10 others.
The homes are valued at between R4-million and R8-million, according to residents.
Gloria Thompson, who lived in the cottage of a house owned by her daughter Simone and son-in-law Rex Tomlinson, was in shock as she surveyed what was left.
“I was at home when the electricity went off. The lift was not working so I ran up the stairs and saw flames right up in the roof.
“I saved a few of my chairs and my TV, otherwise everything in my daughter’s house is gone,” said the distraught pensioner, frantically looking for her dog.
Residents, fire-fighters, construction workers, Chintsa East residents and a fire-fighting crew from Olivewood Golf Estate banded together to fight the flames, move cars out of harm’s way and douse roofs with water in a valiant effort to save vulnerable properties.
About 12 houses survived the inferno, which has been compared to the fire that tore through St Francis Bay in November 2012.
A distraught resident who lost her oceanview, six-bedroom home and was too traumatised to give the Daily Dispatch her name was packing overlockers and sewing machines into her car while flames still licked at the remains of her home. “All I could save were my paperwork, Bibles and sewing machines because that is how I make my living. I have lived here for 14 years and this is too much for me.”
Her domestic worker, who also declined to give her name, said she was cleaning the house when she saw smoke coming from properties near the river. “We saw the fire burn all the homes and we started to spray our thatch, but all I could save was a school uniform.”
Viskop developer Douglas Kunhardt, who bought the scenic land in 1984 and started developing it in 1992, said the exclusive estate was “a 30-year dream”.
“The owners are phoning us now and there are a lot of tears. I really feel for them. Many were organised to spend Christmas here,” said Kunhardt, who lives on the estate and helped co-ordinate the fire-fight. He said he was investigating the cause of the disaster.
Resident Keith Snyman, who owns a home right on the water and helped push his neighbour’s Land Cruiser away from his burning house, said he heard domestic workers screaming at about 8.30am and ran out of his home to see the Tomlinson home blazing.
“The flames were about 30 to 40 foot in the air, but once one of these houses is on fire no amount of water would have put it out. Within an hour all eleven houses were burning.”
Cheryl Friederichs, who also owns a home on the river and described the fire as an inferno, said she thought her home was on fire when she saw the blaze while on her way back from a walk. “I just feel so sorry for everyone that’s been affected by this disaster.”
Holiday home owner Mickey McLellan said he was at work in East London when he received a call about the fire.
“It was like walking into a movie. It was devastating watching it all unfold in front of my eyes.”
McLellan’s house was spared.
Thandi Salzwedel, who lives in a flatlet at her parent’s home, was looking for four missing cats and a Boxer called Maggie after her flatlet was destroyed.
The main house was saved thanks to a 24-man crew from Olivewood Golf Estate, who loaded up their fire-fighting equipment and rushed to help. “When I arrived from work it was like walking into the valley of hell. My parents are in Indonesia and I have told them what happened.”
Amathole District Municipality spokesperson Siyabulela Makunga said ADM sent four fire engines, while another was dispatched from BCM. He said the cause of the fire would be investigated. — hollandsb@dispatch.co.za
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