A suspected electrical fault could be to blame for the fire that destroyed the Simon’s Town home of a navy captain, says the City’s fire department.
Pictures of a house ablaze in Runciman Drive spread quickly on social media and community WhatApp groups on Thursday June 20.
City Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Jermaine Carelse said they received a call at 7.40pm on Thursday.
The fire caused substantial structural damages to the entire first floor and loft area while the ground floor suffered water and smoke damage, said Mr Carelse.
The fire was extinguished at 11.55pm, and no injuries were reported.
According to Simon’s Town Museum curator Cathy Salter, the Edwardian-style house dates back to around 1902 and was built as the house for the medical superintendent of the Royal Navy Hospital at Cable Hill.
It came into the possession of the South African Navy after the handover of Simon’s Town’s Royal Navy to the South African Navy in 1957.
Captain Grace Nkosi, who lived in the house at the time, said she was not authorised to speak to the media and referred the Echo to the navy’s media liaison office.
However, she said, she wanted to thank the Simon’s Town community for their help and generosity.
“The generosity of the community at large has been overwhelming, and I am grateful to everyone for helping me and my family,” she said.
SA Navy spokesperson Lieutenant Commander Nombuso Mhlongo confirmed that a fire had gutted Captain Nkosi’s home.
