Scores left homeless by Masiphumelele blaze

Published Dec 11, 2016

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Cape Town - Many families at Masiphumelele face a bleak holiday period after a fire raged through the dense area in the early hours of Saturday morning. No one was injured, but the blaze destroyed more than 40 homes, leaving scores of people homeless.

Residents used water buckets in an attempt to stem the flames before firefighters arrived at the scene, but the blaze spread quickly because the structures are close to each other and the wind also fanned the fire.

Residents said that when the fire brigade finally arrived, it didn’t have enough water to fight the blaze, and as a result they watched helplessly as their homes were burnt to the ground.

Looking at the rubble, community leader Nocebo Mqhayi said: “Half of this wouldn’t have happened had the fire brigade came here well-prepared.”

Although an official investigation into the cause of the fire has yet to be launched, residents suspect that it was started by an empty pot left unattended on a burning stove.

City spokesman Theo Layne said fire services had responded to the incident before 3 am on Saturday.

“Approximately 50 informal structures were destroyed in the blaze, leaving about 150 persons displaced. No injuries were reported. The cause is undetermined at this time. Disaster risk management will determine how those that were left homeless may be helped,” he said.

The owner of the house where the fire is believed to have started, Whitey Mzunzela, said he had been woken up by screams at about 1.30 am and the flames had been circling above his house.

“All I could think of was to run for my life. Everything that I had was destroyed, ” he said.

Another resident, Buyiselwa Skweyiya, said the incident brought back memories of a similar fire she had experienced in 2005 at the same place.

“It took me almost 10 years to rebuild my life after that incident. And now this again. We lost everything again including money that we had kept in a safe and stuff that we were to take to the Eastern Cape. We just have to cancel the trip now, ”she said.

Charred remains of furniture, a car, iron sheets and crockery stood in piles on the streets - bearing testimony of the devastation of the fire.

Some families searched through the remnants of the belongings, looking for what could still be retrieved. Many had lost valuables including money, furniture, IDs, bank and SASSA cards, as well as birth certificates.

While some residents started rebuilding their homes with the little material they could retrieve, others were still walking around in despair, counting the losses they had suffered as a result of the fire.

Local churches and neighbours sprung into action, and brought in some building material and food for the families affected by the disaster.

They also opened their homes to those who needed a place to stay temporarily.

Trucks belonging to the City arrived with bags of blankets and building material to help the residents.

Despite an offer to be housed temporarily at the local community hall, many families said they would stay with families or neighbours as they feared for their safety.

Weekend Argus

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