A devastating fire has left a 45-year-old man from the Phomolong informal settlement in Mamelodi East in Pretoria with nothing but the clothes on his back, reports Rekord Pretoria.

Alfred Malete said he was at work on Tuesday morning (July 7) when he received a shocking call from a neighbour informing him that his two-roomed shack was ablaze. The fire destroyed everything he owned, but the cause remains unknown. Malete noted that when he left for work earlier that morning, everything was in order and all electrical appliances were switched off.

“Nobody knows what happened or who started it,” he said.

According to neighbours, the fire started in the bedroom and rapidly spread to the kitchen. Spotting the smoke, residents rushed to the scene to check if someone was trapped inside the house. They tried everything they could to douse the fire with buckets of water, but the structure was entirely engulfed within minutes.

Malete lost all his belongings, including furniture, clothing and valuable personal documents.

Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson, Nana Radebe-Kgiba, confirmed that the cause of the fire could not be determined.

Radebe-Kgiba urged residents to exercise extreme caution when using space heaters and other heating sources during the winter period.

Safety precautions include avoiding the use of an imbawula in unventilated spaces, never sleeping with an imbawula inside the house due to toxic fumes, and never leaving heaters and candles unattended.

Emergency services also reminded the public to ensure stoves are switched off before leaving the house or going to bed, and to keep them away from curtains or flammable materials.

Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel.

Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.