Cape Town - A community devastated by a fatal fire say a drunk man who left his stove unattended is the cause of their heartache.
About 30 shacks were destroyed by the flames and 60 people displaced after a fire broke out in Never-Never informal settlement in Marcus Garvey, Philippi East, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Unemployed Sylvia Nonqayi, 54, died after her shack was engulfed in flames as she slept.
She died from serious burn wounds which left her barely recognisable.
Her brother Linda Myamana escaped unharmed.
He was helpless to save his sister as the huge blaze destroyed her home.
Myamana said that his car which was parked in a garage was also completely burnt.
“I lost my sister,” he said tearfully. “It was painful to see my sister’s body being taken into the morgue van. I lost my sister and my belongings including my car.
“This man has caused so much pain to everyone of us here,” he said referring to the man who allegedly started the fire.
“We are angry.”
Residents said they know the identity of the man they blame for causing the fire and say he has fled the area.
On Tuesday, Eskom workers were at the scene fixing cables which were damaged in the fire.
Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut said an inquest docket had been opened following the fatality.
Theo Layne from the City’s Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the fire is undetermined at this stage.
Layne said: “One person sustained fatal burns.”
But residents are convinced the drunk man is to blame.
“Yoh, this man is such a fool,” Bongezwa Somwahla said of the suspected arsonist.
“He has [caused] so much damage and now he has escaped from the area. We couldn’t save our belongings, the fire was too strong.”
She said people are angry because many lost their IDs, and their kids will now have to return to school without books.
Daily Voice