Strandfontein mother and daughter die in fire
A Strandfontein mother and her daughter died when their house was engulfed in flames.
Ruth September, 43, and her daughter Kirsten, 17, died in their home at about 1am on Monday July 22.
They are survived by husband Gary September, 47, who is in hospital and their other daughter Micheala September, 24, who is with her grandfather Samuel September.
Mr September senior told the Plainsman on Tuesday July 23 that Gary was still in hospital with burn wounds.
He said that Ruth woke up to the smell of smoke to which she alerted Gary.
“He then went downstairs and the lounge was engulfed in flames. His daughter whose bedroom is downstairs then also woke up and managed to get out,” he said.
He said that Gary had opened the garage door, which perhaps fanned the fire and he could not see around him.
“The community is very sad and dumbstruck as to what happened,” he said.
Mr September has been inundated with calls from people offering help.
He said his daughter-in-law was a lovely person.
“Soft-spoken and in the years that I have known her I did not hear a swear word. She had a calm demeanour and handled matters very maturely. She never shouted at her children,” he said.
Her colleagues had called Mr September, saying that they could not believe “such a beautiful person is gone”.
He said Kirsten was just like her mother.
“She was looking forward to life and it is hard for us to think they are not here anymore,” said Zeid Baker, principal of South Peninsula High School in Diep River where Kirsten was in Grade 11.
Mr Baker, who had visited the family to sympathise, told them that he could not believe that a pupil whom he had admired was “not here anymore”.
She had just returned from a school excursion to Shetland, in Scotland, as part of a global classroom programme, over a week ago.
The vision of the Global Classroom is to break down barriers between people.
Mr Baker told the Plainsman that Kirsten was an “exemplary student”.
“When she walked past a teacher, she would look up, smile and greet,” he said.
She always had a book in her hand.
“These are values to uphold and she was destined for success. We are grateful to have had her at our school,” said Mr Baker.
Ryan Forward, another teacher who had accompanied the contingent of pupils to Scotland, said: “It was exceptional for us to see her willing to get involved and wanting to meet new people.”
He had known Kirsten from Grade 8 as a “quiet girl, a pleasant young lady”.
“We were worried whether she would speak a bit more but when she arrived in Scotland she was the first to speak to the learners from the different countries”.
Fire and Rescue Service spokesman, Jermaine Carelse, said they were alerted to the fire at 1.15am of a double storey house alight and that people were possibly trapped inside.
Fire crews from Mitchell’s Plain, Ottery and Lakeside were dispatched to the scene.
The blaze in the gutted house was extinguished at 2.45am.
"Two adults, a man and a woman, were treated for smoke inhalation.
“Unfortunately, a woman and a young girl sustained fatal burn wounds,” he said.
Mr Carelse said that a building inspector was requested as the formal house had “substantial structural damage”.
“The cause is yet to be determined and the scene was handed over to the South African Police Service,” he said.
Elton Jansen, councillor for Ward 43, sent condolences to the family via WhatsApp messages informing the community about the tragedy.
Strandfontein safety structures and Mr Jansen will be hosting a memorial service by candlelight at the house, corner of 2nd Gate Green and Spine Road, in Strandfontein tomorrow, Wednesday July 24 at 7.30pm.
His ward office, in Cruiser Street, is also a drop-off point for donations for the September family.
“Thank you once again for pulling together and for your support to the September family,” he said in a WhatsApp message alerting the community to the service.