VICTIMS of a fire that destroyed 100 shacks in the Kosovo informal settlement searched through the charred remains of their belongings in a desperate attempt to salvage what was left of what used to be their homes.
A fire believed to have been caused by an unattended stove destroyed shacks in Oliver Tambo Drive on Monday night, leaving 500 people destitute.
It took four fire engines, four water tanks and two rescue vehicles to douse the blaze, City Fire and Rescue spokesperson Liezl Moodie said.
Ward councillor Siphiwe Nqamnduku said the fire started after a resident left sausages frying on a paraffin stove while he went to buy bread.
Moodie said fire resources were dispatched from Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Epping, Lansdowne Road and Site C Fire Stations.
“No injuries were reported. The fire destroyed 100 wood and iron structures, leaving 500 people displaced. Disaster Risk Management Services were activated to assist those affected,” she said.
Families were out in the pouring rain yesterday collecting the charred remains of their belongings.
They swept aside bent corrugated iron that used to form the walls to their homes.
The victims watched helplessly on top of the hill where their shacks used to be as a bulldozer swept aside burnt corrugated iron sheets.
Scrap metal collectors braved the rain, searching through the rubble and loading their bakkies.
Nomawabo Senzeni said: “My only hope is to find my ID and my seven-month-old child’s birth certificate so I can get her a social grant. I have lost hope of finding anything of value that I may use.”
Senzeni said she was thinking where they were going to sleep. “My friend’s mother took us in on Monday night. I cannot burden her again. I am just thinking about my child,” she said.
Mbulelo Ngqunge said the fire caught the residents by surprise as it was raining on Monday.
“We heard shouts of fire, fire. We didn’t bother to go outside and look. We realised when we felt the heat reaching our home that there was indeed a fire. More and more voices were shouting fire then,” he said.