Shack fire leaves hundreds homeless

DOZENS of people were left homeless after a fire ripped through an informal settlement in Reservoir Hills, west of Durban, and destroyed about 150 shacks yesterday.

Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said it was alleged that a number of informal dwellings caught fire at 10am.

“No injuries were reported and no case has been opened at this stage,” said Mbele.

EThekwini Fire divisional commander Jesse Yasudas said the department received a call just after 10am and fire trucks were in attendance within about seven minutes.

“We had fire trucks from Pinetown

Central, Central Durban, Westville and I came in from uMhlanga.”

Yasudas said the settlement was bordered by the M19, Umgudulu Road and Varsity Drive, the entrance to the University of Kwazulu-Natal campus in Reservoir Hills.

Residents had already evacuated their homes before the fire department arrived and were trying to salvage their belongings.

“The number of shacks that burnt down was approximately 150 and there were no injuries,” said Yasudas.

The steep terrain spread over a large area created some challenges, he said.

“We had a little bit of a battle because of the terrain which is at a very steep angle, I’d say about a 50-degree angle, which the guys had to climb.”

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Yasudas said the wind was also a factor due to the embankment because “wind sweeps up the bank and drives the fire spread”.

While the fire was difficult to bring under control, Yasudas said firefighters managed to contain it within about 45 minutes. Yasudas said it was not know what started the fire.

EThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said disaster management teams had been dispatched to the scene.

“We are assessing the damage caused by the fire and we will only know how many people have been affected after this has been concluded.

“A report will be compiled and forwarded to various stakeholders for humanitarian and governmental assistance.”