EVERY month for the last five months, a fire has devastated families in Dunoon’s informal settlements, and residents say the latest one razed 44 homes yesterday.
At around 3am on Sunday morning, 145 people watched as their homes went up in flames, many not being able to salvage anything.
Earning R3 000 a month, affected resident Nokwande Dinwa said she sees no end in sight as she thinks about replacing what she lost.
When the Cape Times visited, Dinwa was wearing clothes borrowed from an unaffected neighbour and her six-year-old son still had clothes on from the night before.
She had not managed to salvage anything.
“My son woke me up at around 3am because he heard screams. When I looked outside the window I saw the fire and it was approaching my house.
‘‘We ran to save our lives and lost everything that was inside.”
She was supposed to be at work yesterday, but called her employer to say she wouldn't make it.
“I don’t know where I’m going to start, or what I’m going to buy first.
"This is also a difficult month, January, and I have not been paid yet.”
Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said the cause of the fire was unknown.
Yesterday, an NGO the City worked with, Historical Disadvantaged Individuals, handed blankets and porridge to the residents.
The City was also listing the families who needed material to rebuild their homes, and residents would get this soon, Powell said.
Community leader Toko Xamlashe said since September last year there had been a fire every month in the area, which destroyed homes and families.
She said hundreds of residents did not have access to electricity and that fuelled the risk of fire.
“People have no choice but to cook outside on open fires and light candles to see at night when it’s dark.
‘‘We can’t say what exactly caused this fire, but it’s likely that it was one of those things,” Xamlashe added.