A LAVENDER HILL family is left puzzled by the cause of a fire that gutted their home yesterday.

At approximately 09:30, passersby noticed smoke fouring from the roof of the house and heard children screaming at the back.

When People’s Post arrived on the scene, fire rescue workers had managed to put out the fire, with residents on the roof armed with buckets of water assisting the rescue workers.

Carlo Moses, a Lavender Hill resident, rushed to the back, where he kicked in a back window and attempted to rescue the children.

“I couldn’t see anything at the time because the smoke was too thick and there was a burglar bar on the window; all I heard were the children screaming,” says Moses.

Owner of the house and community social worker, Janice Benjamin, was busy working in the garden when she heard the frantic calls for help.

Benjamin cares for adopted children and regularly receives donations from Pick n Pay, which she hands out to the community.

“I have yet to check the damage inside my house, but it looks like everything has been lost and things that I needed, like the children’s bottles, were all lost in the fire,” says Benjamin.

She further added that nobody knew how the fire began. There was much speculation, “but nobody knows the real story”.

“Everybody has ideas, but they just guessing and we have to just wait to find out what started the fire,” says Benjamin.

Her son, Heinrich, was asleep at the time but escaped and later stood in shock outside as he watched his home go up in flames.

Rescue workers on the scene could not confirm the cause of the fire and were still inspecting the house for any faults, but an investigation will follow.

If anybody is interested in assisting the family with donations, contact Cheryl on (021) 701 3997 or Mavis Abrahams on (021) 701 2572 or 076 681 3733.