Cape Town - With rain expected to continue this week, residents of Kosovo informal settlement in Philippi are faced with the task of rebuilding more than 100 shacks razed by fire.
More than 600 residents scoured through the bent corrugated iron and embers that used to form the walls of their homes.
The Weather Service has predicted 60 percent rain which will continue into the rest of the week.
Many residents said they had spent the night sleeping on the streets. Heavy rains had soaked the only clothes they had.
Ward councillor Siphiwe Nqamndku told the Cape Argus the fire was believed to have been sparked when a resident cooked sausages on a paraffin stove and left to buy bread.
At about 7pm on Monday, when residents were alerted to the growing inferno, it was too late to save any belongings.
Residents fled their cheek by jowl shacks to save their lives. Many children were seen looking for remnants of their school books. A matric student said she had no study materials left.
It took 23 firefighters, four fire engines and four water tanks to douse the flames. The fire was only extinguished at 1am, said City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Theo Layne.
Even as families tried to clear the rubble to rebuild their homes, showers fell.
The community does not have a hall to house the displaced temporarily.
Grandmother Nowethu Makeambi, 62, said she had been sleeping when the fire reached dangerously close to the shack she shared with seven family members.
“The neighbour woke me. I came out running and grabbed the kids because the fire was so very close. I have nothing but my clothes on my back. I do not know what I am going to do. My family and I are sleeping out in the cold. I was soaking wet last night because of the rains.”
Aphiwe Mafu, 12, said she had felt panicked when she felt the heat rise to her own home and had only moments to react to get her family to safety.
Her mother, Philiswa and older sister, Sihovelwa, escaped with their lives.
“I feel so sad. I lost all of my clothes, my school clothes and all of the things I need. Where will my family go to?” Aphiwe asked.
Cape Argus