Cape Town - A fire that destroyed 20 shacks in Langa’s Zone 22 left a man with burns to his face and both hands.
Siyabonga Mbeleki, 35, who suffers from seizures, said he had just finished taking his medication when the fire started on Monday night.
He said he was burnt when he tried to save some of his clothes and that if it hadn’t been for his uncle, who pulled him out, he may have died.
“I lost everything - even the clothes I’m wearing I got from neighbours,” he said.
He said proper housing would be the only way to prevent such fires.
Zingisile Nelisani, 36, who is blind, said it was not the first time he had narrowly escaped being burnt. “Since I lost my eyesight after I was attacked by robbers in 2010, I’ve survived a few fire incidents.”
Nelisani said he has been pleading with the city to build him a house.
Ward councillor, Mayenzeke Sophaqa said 24 fires had been reported in the area since he became councillor in 2011.
“I’ve been talking to the city to build houses because these fires will keep on destroying their belongings.”
City Fire and Rescue spokesman, Theo Layne said the fire started before midnight on Monday: “Twenty structures were destroyed and 37 people displaced.
“The cause of the fire has not been determined at this stage.”
Disaster Risk Management spokeswoman Charlotte Powell said some residents opted to stay with family and friends and that the Department of Human Settlements made an assessment and provided fire kits: “An NGO provided relief of food parcels, hot meals and blankets.”
Another fire, at the Kanana settlement in Gugulethu on Tuesday, destroyed nine structures, displacing 21 people.
No injuries were reported.
Cape Argus