By Zara Leask Baggesen
A fire sparked by roofing work on 24 April forced students to evacuate a house on Merriman Road, opposite Eendrag. It left eight out of the 16 residents searching for temporary housing. Residents said contractors had been working on the roof when the fire started.
Erin Green , a resident of the house and fourth-year BSc (Food Science) student, said, “There were people working on our roof, trying to waterproof [it] and the stuff that they use is very hot, and then that went through a gap in the roof and burnt the spark plug of the geyser in the front house.” Green said the workers were unable to contain the flames and called the fire department as the fire spread through the property.
The incident occurred while many of the residents were writing tests that evening, with several only discovering that their home had caught on fire after leaving their test venue. “I didn’t believe it at first and thought it was a prank, and then the reality set in and I realised it wasn’t,” said Amber van Alphen, one of the residents interviewed by Die Matie.
Although many residents managed to recover their belongings, several sentimental items, such as a beloved hockey stick from one of the resident’s high school years stored in the house’s storeroom, were destroyed.
Following the evacuation, residents were forced to find alternative accommodation, initially relying on friends and emergency arrangements, before MySpace accommodation offered rooms to affected students at a reduced cost, in the days following the incident. “MySpace offered to rent out rooms at the price of our digs [house],” says Green.
Friends of the residents also opened their homes, while Stellenbosch University (SU) provided additional support in the form of reaching out to the residents with a message of encouragement as students adjusted to their new living arrangements.
While repairs to the house continue, residents are adjusting to temporary accommodation and disrupted routines. It is not lost on residents that their lives look very different to how it did a week prior, as Van Alphen reflects: “I’m very grateful for the roof over my head, but my room feels empty.”
The fire has also shifted how some residents view independence and loss. “It definitely has taught me how to give up wanting my independence and figuring out situation[s] on my own,” said Van Alphen. Green echoed this sentiment, reflecting on the unpredictability of tragedy: “You never think something like this will happen to you, until it does.”
