With Cape Town’s winter season approaching, those living in informal settlements fear that while the change should bring wet weather, the continuing drought could extend their misery with more fires.
Winter for people living in informal settlements means keeping themselves warm with paraffin.
In recent weeks hundreds of homes have been razed due to shack fires, leaving 41 people dead from January to the end of March compared to 15 during the same period last year.
Between January and the end of March there had also been an increase in the recorded number of fires at formal and informal homes compared with the past three years.
From January to March, 3159 structures were either destroyed or damaged by fires compared with 1268 last year, 864 in 2015 and 729 in 2014.
In the same period there was also an increase in the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue services responding to fire alerts, compared to the last three years.
The Fire and Rescue Services responded to 377 fire alerts in informal settlements between January and March, compared to 322 last year, 317 in 2015 and 285 in 2014.
The Disaster Operations Centre has co-ordinated humanitarian relief of just over R19million between October last year and mid-April, the bulk of which was distributed between January and March this year.
Mayco member for Safety and Security; and Social Services JP Smith said most fires were caused by a “lack of thought or concentration, or by carelessness.
“Cigarettes, matches and lighters, candles, electrical faults, heating and cooking appliances and equipment such as electric blankets can all lead to the starting of a fire,” said Smith.
He said paraffin should be handled with extreme care, as it was poisonous and could burn skin even if unlit.
Because paraffin is often sold in containers contaminated with chemicals such as petrol, or mixed with methylated spirits, Smith said it could flare dangerously or even explode.
Paraffin stoves that are knocked over or explode are a major cause of injuries and fires in informal settlements.
Smith advised informal settlement residents that the best way to avoid fires is to never leave a paraffin appliance unattended.
“It only takes a second for a gust of wind, pet or child to knock over a light or stove. Make sure paraffin appliances are on a flat, firm surface.
‘‘Do not put a cloth under a paraffin appliance.
‘‘Always have a bucket of sand nearby when using a paraffin appliance. Water will not extinguish a paraffin fire and can make matters worse by spreading the flames.
‘‘Paraffin fires can only be extinguished using sand or a fire extinguisher,” said Smith.
Masiphumelele community activist Rosemary Milbank, said the fires were traumatic for those affected.
“People’s lives are lost. Hundreds of homes are lost.
‘‘People lose everything inside them; their furniture, their clothing, their cooking equipment.
“They lose everything when their homes burn down. If it is at night they have to get out fast,” said Milbank.
In Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, where three people lost their lives, more than 15000 people were displaced and more than 4000 homes destroyed on March11.
Activist Thulani Siyo lamented the long history of fires in the area, and said there was a desperate need for more adequate housing.
He said there was no time to wait for long-term housing plans, which would take no less than three years.
“Immediate solutions are needed. Government plans are taking forever.
‘‘People have died waiting for housing, and it seems politicians couldn’t care less, except for votes, and then they disappear,” said Siyo. Some people had been fire victims five times, but still there were “no concrete plans” to improve their lives.