500 homeless as Dunoon fire destroys 100 shacks
WHEN Dunoon resident Unathi Papa returned from work yesterday she was confronted by a blaze that was destroying her family’s belongings.
The 32-year-old was among the hundreds of Dunoon residents left homeless after the fire gutted their shacks.
About 100 shacks were destroyed, leaving more than 500 people displaced, according to the City. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
“When I heard there was fire in the area I didn’t think the damage would be this bad. I thought maybe one or two shacks had burnt. When I arrived it was chaotic. Everyone was running, trying to save what they could. All I could do was to helplessly watch everything burn. I’m left only with my work clothes,” said Papa.
Another resident, Babalwa Bidiyane, said the fire spread rapidly and her family of six were woken by other residents calling for help outside.
“When I opened the door I could see plumes of black smoke all over the area and the fire was already by my neighbour’s house.
“We could only save important documents such as our identity documents. Everything else burnt. We are really grateful no one was injured,” said Bidiyane.
The mother of two said she didn’t know how her children would go to school and where they would sleep as she couldn’t rebuild her home.
City Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Theo Layne said around 42 firefighters from the City rushed to Usasaza Road in Dunoon at about 5.30am to battle the fire.
By afternoon, residents were hard at work clearing the site in order to rebuild their homes.
Layne said crews remained on the scene to carry out mopping-up operations.