The Murdoch Valley house of filmmaker Craig Foster up in flames. PICTURE: CAPE MEDICAL RESPONSE
The cause of a fire that gutted the house of Craig Foster, the producer of the Oscar-winning My Octopus Teacher, is still unknown.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Jermaine Carelse said an emergency call was received around 10am last Thursday, October 6, of a house alight in Freesia Road in Murdoch Valley, Simon’s Town.
He said fire crews from Simon’s Town, Kommetjie Road, and Fish Hoek responded to the incident and upon arrival found a triple-storey building, with wooden floors, on fire.
“The building sustained major damages and the area had to be cordoned off. The fire was extinguished at 11.45am and the cause has not yet been determined,” Mr Carelse said.
In a statement, Cape Medical Response (CMR) said that there had been no injuries and that all residents of the house had been accounted for.
Mr Foster told the Echo that it was a big shock to lose your house to a fire, but that he was “very grateful” that he, his son, and his son’s friend made it out of the house safely.
He said the family has received so much love, support and help from the community, and also “tremendous” support from friends overseas.
“Neighbours and friends [are] offering up places for us to stay and rooms in which to store any belongings that survived, plus gifts of clothes and food,” he said.
In April last year, Mr Foster’s Netflix documentary, My Octopus Teacher, was awarded the best documentary Oscar at the 93rd Academy Awards. The film also won the best documentary award at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) earlier in April 2021, (“Oscars for My Octopus Teacher,” Echo April 29, 2021).
Mr Foster, who is also the founder of Sea Change Project, said it was a blessing that there are “so many wonderful people around us who have shown so much concern and care”.
He said the assessment into the cause of the fire is ongoing.