Freak Fire Accident Leaves Norton Family Homeless
23 September 2021
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By A Correspondent- A Norton family is staying in the open after a freak fire accident reduced their entire homestead and property to ashes.

The incident happened last Thursday afternoon at Exe Farm, one of the resettlement areas bordering Norton town to the west.

Narrating the ordeal to H-Metro, Juma Timothy, a 39-year-old father of three, said no foul play is suspected.

“The wind most likely blew some embers from a nearby rubbish dump onto the grass wall around my homestead and the fire spread rapidly”, he said.

He added that their entire homestead comprising two communal huts was burnt, including everything inside.

“As it stands, we only have what we were wearing at the time. All clothes, household utensils, furniture and food were reduced to ashes. All identity documents, including children’s birth certificates were burnt”, he said, while appealing for assistance from well-wishers.

When H-Metro met Timothy, he was coming from the local Social Welfare department offices.

“We got some food provisions from social welfare and we are grateful. We are appealing to others who can assist us with shelter, provisions and replacement of the burnt identity documents”, said Timothy.

While some people, including those from outside Norton, are now proud owners of spacious plots there thanks to the land reform program, some former farm workers remain stuck in “worker compounds”, popularly referred to as “makombhoni”.

These are densely populated settlements predominantly built of mud, pole and grass structures in close proximity of each other. A fire outbreak at one point is bound to surely spread wide quickly. It is fortunate that, in this case, the fire was contained before it affected the whole compound.