Cape Town – At least one person died and 208 people were displaced after several fires ripped through informal settlements in Cape Town.
The most devastating was in the New Rest informal settlement in Gugulethu on Friday, which destroyed 30 shacks and left 156 people displaced. At the time of going to publication, the cause of the fire had not been established.
One person sustained fatal burns at another fire in Gugulethu. Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services assistant spokesperson Tracey Whittaker said: “The service responded to a dwelling alight at approximately 12.32am on Saturday at 61M Kafi Road, Gugulethu. Response comprised four firefighting vehicles. The cause of the fire is undetermined at this stage.”
At least 42 informal settlements were destroyed in Cape Town at the weekend.
On Saturday, the City’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to four informal settlement fires including one in which one person died.
“On Sikhobongela Street in Wallacedene, three wood and iron structures were destroyed by fire and three persons were displaced,” Whittaker said.
Another fire at Borcherds Quarry Road in Crossroads destroyed nine wood-and- iron structures, leaving 35 people displaced.
At Cliffoney Street in Connaught, two wood-and-iron structures were destroyed by fire and two houses partially affected by fire.
The fire left 14 people displaced.
Red Cross will provide humanitarian relief, hot meals, blankets, vanity packs and clothing for those affected by the fires. On Saturday, personnel from the Department of Human Settlements as well as municipal electricity and solid waste workers were on the scene to assist the affected.