Fire destroys shacks and RDP houses

Fee bearing image – Cape Town – 150330 – 5 Shacks were burned down in Vygieskraal when a fire swept through the informal settlement in the early hours of this morning. Reporter: Sandiso Phaliso. Photographer: Armand Hough

Fee bearing image – Cape Town – 150330 – 5 Shacks were burned down in Vygieskraal when a fire swept through the informal settlement in the early hours of this morning. Reporter: Sandiso Phaliso. Photographer: Armand Hough

Published Mar 31, 2015

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Sandiso Phaliso

A PILE of twisted zinc, blackened metal bed frames and some gutted kitchen appliances were all that remained of Kapata Shabani’s belongings after a fire destroyed 33 shacks and two RDP houses in the early hours of yesterday morning.

As the other victims of the fire went through what was left of their homes, Shabani sat sadly in the middle of where his shack used to be as he considered the cost of the fire, while having no idea what he would do next.

He said when he woke up just after 2am, the fire had already overwhelmed the RDP house next to his shack, where he used to live with a friend.

Shabani said he could save nothing from the fire and lost everything except the clothes he was wearing.

“I don’t know what to do next or where I am going to rebuild the shack,” he said.

Gordon Dukisa, 45, the owner of the RDP house where the blaze began, said he had no idea how the fire started.

He said he and his family of four were asleep when he noticed a bright light from one of the rooms and found the house on fire. Although he was not sure, he said he suspected arson “because of the way the fire spread so quickly you could say it was petrol”.

Dukisa’s house was completely destroyed. “We thank God we survived,” he said.

By yesterday afternoon the residents were preparing to rebuild their shacks with starter kits provided by the city. But identity documents, birth certificates, furniture and school uniforms had all been burnt in the fire.

Another resident, Alfred Ntidi, said it was difficult to deal with the fact that he had to start from scratch.

He said: “All my savings have been lost.”

The city’s Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Theo Layne, confirmed the incident and said about 80 people had been displaced as a result of the fire. “No injuries or fatalities were reported,” he said.

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