Three injured as Madelakufa 2 shacks go up in flames
It is believed the cause was a brazier left unattended, while used for cooking
Three people sustained serious injuries while trying to extinguish seven shacks gutted by flames in Madelakufa 2 informal settlement on Tuesday afternoon and had to be urgently hospitalised as a result.
According to William Ntladi from the City of Ekurhuleni’s Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS), investigations to determine the cause of the fire are continuing, but earlier information suggested that the fire was caused by an unattended brazier.
“The cause of the fire is still a subject of investigation. However, it is alleged that the cause was a brazier left unattended, while used for cooking,” said Ntladi.
He said three people sustained deep lacerations because of sharp objects on the scene, while trying to salvage their properties from the raging fire.
“The injured were all transported to Tembisa Hospital for further medical care. There were several other properties burnt down since Monday. Three shacks burnt down in Madelakufa 1 on Monday morning with no casualties reported. Eight people were displaced as a result. Disaster relief aids were issued to the affected families,” he said.
“Direct fire suppression was initiated and flames were contained and extinguished without further damage to other structures. A fleet of three major pumpers and two disaster relief vehicles were used to facilitate the remedial actions.
“Disaster management assisted 21 people who had their structures destroyed by the blazing fires through disaster relief aids,” he said.
Asked if these incidents were somehow related to the recent spate of riots happening in the area, Ntladi said these were just unfortunate separate incidents and nothing to do with the unrests.
