2 perish in 6 shack fires across city
TWO people perished in one of six shack fires across the city over the Easter weekend.
Residents living in areas like Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, Mfuleni, Crossroads, Wallacedene in Kraaifontein, St Patricks Crescent in Lavender Hill and New Rest in Gugulethu were affected by the fires.
The Gugulethu fire left one person dead, destroyed 30 shacks and left 156 people displaced, where the Crossroads fire left nine shacks destroyed and 35 homeless.
Three separate shack fires in Kraaifontein left three people displaced.
Abongile Matomela, 28, died in a shack fire that left about 200 homes razed to the ground and 1 000 homeless in Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay on Sunday.
The fire in Imizamo Yethu comes a month after a previous fire killed three people, destroying 4 000 homes and leaving 15 000 people displaced.
The City’s fire and rescue services spokesperson, Theo Layne, said 12 fire engines, eight water tankers and 80 firefighters responded to the fire after 2am on Sunday.
The firefighters battled the fire for four hours, said Layne.
Matomela died inside his shack, but none of the residents suffered any injuries.
When the Cape Times visited the scene yesterday, residents closely guarded some of Matomela’s skeletal remains, which the team from the provincial Health Department’s pathology unit had failed to spot amid the charred remains of his shack.
Layne said the City’s Disaster Management team was busy assessing the damage and the Mustadafin Foundation provided humanitarian relief to the affected residents and the City’s solid waste, water and sanitation departments were at the scene yesterday busy with the rehabilitation process.
Police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk said the Hout Bay fire victims were currently staying on the area’s sports field.
He said an inquest docket has been opened for investigation and the cause of the fire was unknown.
Thandolwethu Xotongo, 29, said he lost everything in the fire and yesterday was rebuilding his two-room shack.
He said the fire started three houses from his and spread quickly. It was too late for him to even save any of his belongings.
In an unrelated incident in Milnerton yesterday, according to the City’s spokesperson, Tracey Whittaker, 24 firefighters responded with six water tankers to Barksole factory which was on fire.
Yesterday afternoon the City’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to a shack fire in Lwandle at 5.55pm.
Three shacks were destroyed by the fire. which claimed the life of an infant, who sustained fatal burns.
Officials said they were still to determine the cause of the blaze.