Fire at Greenwood Park informal settlement in Durban destroys 80 homes

Veronica Mabhulule, 49, said they lost everything in the fire, including ID documents, her work uniform and her daughter’s school material and uniform. I Tumi Pakkies/African News Agency(ANA)

Veronica Mabhulule, 49, said they lost everything in the fire, including ID documents, her work uniform and her daughter’s school material and uniform. I Tumi Pakkies/African News Agency(ANA)

Published Nov 8, 2021

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DURBAN - GREENWOOD Park informal settlement residents are rebuilding their homes and lives after a fire swept through the area on Saturday.

On Sunday, Thandanani informal settlement residents were removing rubble, burnt wooden poles and damaged metal sheets from the small plots of land their shacks were built on.

Saturday afternoon’s fire ripped through 80 shacks. Residents said they were living on hope and empty promises from politicians.

It was claimed that the fire started in the home of Sandile Cele, who was at work.

“I got the call from friends and neighbours, but by the time I got here, my home and possessions were burnt. I believe someone broke my window and threw something inside. We have heard of problems in the settlement that could be politically related,” Cele said.

Veronica Mabhulule, 58, said her three-room shack and most of her possessions were burnt. She lives with five other family members.

“All we heard was people screaming ’fire’. We grabbed what we could and ran to a safe place. We left with the clothes on our back. It is stressful to wake up on a Sunday with nothing. We had to sleep in the ablution facility containers overnight,” she said.

Community leader Johnson Mgenge said that residents needed building materials and hope for a better life. He said politicians had promised them more than 20 years that they would be housed.

Ward councillor Ashok Maharaj said there were a number of theories as to how the fire started. He left it up to the police to investigate.

“There were three fires in the informal settlement recently. So this one is not coincidental. People are left without a roof over their heads. EThekwini Disaster Management and relief organisations have been called in to assist.”

In Newlands East on Saturday, Mark Gertze, 44, died when his home caught alight on Maasbanker Avenue.

Newlands East Community Policing Forum secretary Joanne Ryan said neighbours had heard Gertze screaming for help. Neighbours saw smoke billowing out the upstairs room window.

“Neighbours rallied together and used garden hoses to extinguish the fire. Unfortunately, Gertze had died despite their valiant efforts. The cause of the fire could have been a candle falling over in the room,” she said.

Gertze’s brother Timothy Gertze thanked the community for their support and prayers. He said the family was in mourning, and that the funeral service and cremation would take place privately.

Daily News