Family lucky to escape fire: 'I just saw a wall of flames outside the window'
Lisa Coetzee woke up her husband Cobus and got her three old son out of their burning house at 5am on Easter Sunday. Photo: Supplied
"When I opened the bathroom door, I just saw a wall of flames outside the window.""When I opened the bathroom door, I just saw a wall of flames outside the window."
That is what Lisa Coetzee was shocked to find just after 5am on Easter Sunday.
The fire destroyed the bathroom, toilet, and laundry in the Norwood Rd house. Photo: Supplied
Coetzee woke up to a noise she thought was the bathroom fan, but it turned out to be a large fire in the carport.Coetzee woke up to a noise she thought was the bathroom fan, but it turned out to be a large fire in the carport.
At the time, Coetzee’s husband Cobus, their 3-year-old son Ashton and Lisa’s sister were all asleep in the Norwood Rd house, which is on a farm between Burnham and Dunsandel.
“I just screamed at the house to get up, there’s a fire,” Coetzee said.
Her first thought was to grab the fire extinguisher, but that quickly turned to getting everyone out alive.
While the house had fire alarms, they did not go off until the fire started to crack the glass windows.
Coetzee said it was just luck she woke up to the noise of the fire first, allowing the family a little more time to get out uninjured.
On the way out, Cobus shut the bedroom doors to try and slow the spread of the fire.
Coetzee was told by firefighters this likely helped.
Photo: Supplied
Once outside, Coetzee used the garden hose to try and fight the fire, but as it grew she stopped.Once outside, Coetzee used the garden hose to try and fight the fire, but as it grew she stopped.
“I grabbed the garden hose to douse the fire . . . when the flames started eating the door that’s when I abandoned the hose and got a lot further away,” she said.
Meanwhile, Coetzee’s sister was dialling 111.
“When my sister called them, she couldn’t remember our address, she just said Norwood Rd.”
After giving up on fighting the fire, Coetzee phoned 111 to give them the address.
“I thought I can’t hear sirens, and it’s all going up, then they were there just after that,” she said.
Photo: Supplied
Within 15 minutes from the first 111 call, fire crews from the Dunsandel Volunteer Fire Brigade arrived, backed up by Rolleston, Kirwee and Darfield.Within 15 minutes from the first 111 call, fire crews from the Dunsandel Volunteer Fire Brigade arrived, backed up by Rolleston, Kirwee and Darfield.
“They were amazing,” Coetzee said.
The fire destroyed the laundry, toilet and bathroom, but firefighters were able to stop it getting into the bedrooms and the lounge. However, much of the house was water damaged after the kitchen and bathroom pipes burst.
Since the fire, the family has been salvaging what they can from the home. They have also received donations of clothing and household items from the community.
“I’ve had a team of friends who have been running some of our clothes through the laundromat for us, but even with a few washes, some still smell like smoke,” Coetzee said.
Lisa Coetzee's car was also damaged by the fire. Photo: Supplied
Coetzee’s car was also damaged by the fire.Coetzee’s car was also damaged by the fire.
The family will move into another house on the farm.
The cause of the fire is still to be determined.