Chad le Clos’s neighbour remembered as vibrant Sea Point local
An elderly man who died in a fire that ravaged a Sea Point apartment complex where Chad le Clos lived has been remembered as a vibrant member of the…
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An elderly man who died in a fire that ravaged a Sea Point apartment complex where Chad le Clos lived has been remembered as a vibrant member of the community.
On Tuesday, 4 August, the accomplished swimmer shared the news that his flat had been gutted in the blaze that broke out last week.
He has since set up a rescue drive to help three displaced families who lived in the building.
MAN WHO DIED IN SEA POINT FIRE FONDLY REMEMBERED
According to authorities, 93-year-old Sam Strime died of smoke inhalation on the fifth floor of the apartment complex on High Level Road in Sea Point.
His son, Kevin Strime, shared that his dad had attempted to rescue his pet dog when he became trapped in the thick smoke inside.
Kevin added that his father had “loved everyone” and was a well-known figure in the community.
Author and Sea Point resident, Herman Lategan, echoed the sentiments.
He shared on a Facebook post: “He was a regular at the Vasco da Gama Taverna. If you spent enough time there, you eventually came to know him. You couldn’t miss him.
“He had a mop of long grey hair, like curtains around his face. Peeping from beneath them, he would fix you with eyes so piercing that he could stare almost anyone out of the room.
It was an extraordinary stare. He had no airs about him and wasn’t interested in impressing anyone”.
He jokingly added: “Sea Point has lost another oddball. Goodbye bright yellow, goodbye Formica table, goodbye Sam”.
Lategan commended Chad le Clos for his empathy and humanitarian approach to his neighbours, some of whom, like him, had lost all their material possessions in the fire.
He continued: “What struck me most about Chad’s post was not that he’d lost his own home.
Just hours after breaking the all-time Commonwealth medal record, he didn’t make the story about himself.
Instead, he wrote first about the elderly neighbour who had lost his life, about the residents who had lost everything, and about the firefighters and emergency workers who battled through the night”
CHAD LE CLOS: ‘I LOST 90% OF MY BELONGINGS’
Speaking to KFM this week, Chad le Clos shared that he had learned of the devastating fire during a media interview at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last week.
The 34-year-old revealed that he had lost 90% of his personal belongings in his apartment, which was once home to the late Sea Point GP, Dr John Sonnenberg.
This included clothes, watches and sentimental sporting memorabilia that he had accumulated over his swimming career
Nevertheless, Chad -formerly of Durban – remained optimistic.
He shared: “As much as I’ve lost a hell of a lot in the last few days, I’ve gained a lifetime of memories that will never ever be extinguished.”