First home back on the Ridge
A resident of Knysna was left speechless and with tears in her eyes recently when her home, lost in the Knysna fires, was officially handed over to her after it was rebuilt.
Lucy Stawiszynska’s home in Eastford Ridge Estate, Welbedacht was partially destroyed by the fires that swept through Knysna, and on 1 September hers was the first to be completely rebuilt and handed over.
The companies responsible were her insurer, Standard Bank, and Bathopele Construction from Durban.
Stawiszynska’s tale of survival, as most experiences that came from the fire, is a harrowing one.
She said that on the morning of 7 June she had first not realised how fast the fire would reach the estate, but soon found that the flames were already “touching” a back window to her home.
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“When I reached my garage the flames were already on top of the house. I took my dog and my bird and thought we would be safe in the car. As I tried reaching the entrance of the estate there was already fire from one side to the other. It was impassable, I couldn’t even see,” she said.
Eventually, Stawiszynska said, she ended up in the “bush” in the estate trying to find another route out, “but my car was not strong enough”.
“I took my animals and left the car. A lady in a 4×4 soon came by and took my dog, I couldn’t understand why she didn’t take me with her. Later I realised, as another 4×4 came by and picked me up, that the first lady had no space for me but knew another vehicle was following them.
“It was so hot and I could barely breathe.”
Preparing for the worst
Stawiszynska said at that point she didn’t know if she would survive and started phoning friends and her grandson Alexander who was in France, to say goodbye. “But then we survived and I was so grateful!”
Bathopele CEO Harold Francis said, “We met with Mrs Stawiszynska earlier in June to advise her that we had been awarded the project of rebuilding her property by Standard Bank.
“On meeting with her, we were expecting to find a woman who was deeply distressed with the loss of her property, coupled with the recent loss of her husband. Instead, we found an energetic, positive, determined woman with a zeal for life.
“This inspired us as a team, and together with the complete cooperation of Mrs Stawiszynska and her grandson Alexander, we began the rebuilding on 4 July.”
According to Francis they immediately began to source all the material required for the rebuild locally, “which we believe has substantially boosted the local economy”.
He said the project took Bathopele two months to complete, and the house was handed over to Stawiszynska on the 1 September.
Back to original state
Along with restoring the property back to its original condition with high-class finishes, said Francis, they installed a water catchment system to comply with Knysna municipality requirements.
“This is the first property that has been rebuilt and restored on this estate,” he added.
“The most satisfying part was seeing Mrs Stawiszynska’s reaction and smile during the building process and on completion. Our primary purpose in our involvement with the building projects in Knysna is to get the people of this beautiful town back into their homes as quickly as possible.
“Bathopele Construction is glad to partner with Standard Bank in restoring Knysna back to its former beauty.”
Bathopele has even gone so far as hiring a house in Knysna for their employees.
“This way we can assure quality and speed in the rebuilding process,” said Francis.
Stawiszynska said words could not describe how happy she is. At the handover of her home, “it was hugs and tears and thankyous all round”.
She added, “Without these wonderful men from Bathopele I don’t know how long it would have taken to rebuild my home. They are absolute stars!”
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Source: Knysna Plett Herald News