More than 2 000 people were left without shelter after a pre-dawn inferno that razed more than 200 shacks in the Khayelitsha informal settlement in Clairwood.
|||More than 2 000 people were left without shelter after a pre-dawn inferno that razed more than 200 shacks in the Khayelitsha informal settlement in Clairwood on Saturday.
Residents had a rude awakening at about 3am on Saturday when a fire broke out.
The shack dwellers lost almost everything they owned, with some returning from working night shifts to find only the charred items of their belongings in the smouldering ashes.
“All I have left are the clothes on my body,” said Mziwamadoda Flathela, who was at work when the fire started.
“My Road Accident Fund papers, R2 000 and ID book were all destroyed in the fire. In October 2012 I was involved in a car accident and was wheelchair-bound for six months. I don’t know where I am going to sleep tonight and it will take time before I can go to work,” he added.
Mavis Madlala, 47, who has been living in the settlement for eight years, said this was the third fire in the settlement in recent times.
“Already I have survived three fires in this place. I am tired of seeing my house in flames,” said the distraught mother of five.
“I woke up to people screaming. There was smoke all around. I couldn't see anything. I tried to unlock the door, but it wouldn't budge and I ended up kicking the wall in on the side to be able to escape.
“My priority was to get the children out. I was unable to take anything else. Their uniforms and school books are gone. I don't know what will happen now - only God knows.”
Another resident, Nosipho Mandelo, said when the fire broke out she rushed to save her three-month-old baby.
“I couldn't believe it was happening. The fire spread so quickly that I couldn't save anything, not even a spoon,” she said.
The cause of the fire is not known, but it’s thought an unattended candle or paraffin stove caused the devastation.
By midday yesterday, people were scrambling to erect new shelters before nightfall using material supplied by the eThekwini Municipality.
Mayor James Nxumalo, who visited the victims, said the municipality would provide food parcels and building material as relief measures for the residents.
“We’re lucky no one was injured. The area is congested. If the fire had started from a different angle, it would have been a different story.
“These places give us headaches. As winter approaches, fires become an all-too-familiar sight. People get cold and light stoves to warm up, which leads to fires,” he said. - Sunday Tribune