Pretoria shack fire probed

The cause of the fire that left 250 people homeless after 45 shacks were destroyed by fire in Plastic View informal settlement in the east of Pretoria is still under investigation.

In video footage of the fire, residents are seen standing on their shack roofs to get a glimpse of the fire spreading rapidly a few metres away.

Third fire in Pretoria East informal settlements

This is the third fire in less than two years in Pretoria East informal settlements.

The most recent incident was reported in August in Cemetery View where 300 shacks burnt down.

In March 2022, 400 shacks also burnt down at the Cemetery View informal settlement which is located about 3km from the Plastic View informal settlement.

City of Tshwane emergency services department spokesperson Charles Mabaso said Tshwane emergency services (EMS) responded to a fire incident involving 45 shacks at Plastic View informal settlement on Saturday.

“One patient was treated and transported for smoke inhalation and moderate injuries and three were treated for minor injuries on the scene but refused transport to a medical facility.

“A total of 250 people lost their shelter and personal belongings because of the fire,” he said.

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Mabaso said when EMS arrived at the scene after 4.30am they found multiple shacks on fire and immediately started firefighting operations while protecting scores of unburnt shacks from being affected.

“The Tshwane emergency services department will intensify public awareness campaigns at this informal settlement as part of continuous education to the communities on fire safety and disaster risk reduction,” he said.

Mabaso called on residents to use paraffin stoves with extreme caution and to never leave open fires unattended or without adult supervision.

He said illegal electricity connections were also a cause of fires and that residents should always be aware that this might lead to emergency incidents.

Train and educate residents

Johan Botha, founder of the Sinoville brandbestrydingsvereniging (SBBV), said there should be something like block committees in an informal settlement that are trained and can take responsibility for the block and the firefighting equipment if a fire breaks out.

“We should train the residents about what causes fires and how they spread to help reduce the incidents.”

Solar panels a safe option

Botha said solar panels would be ideal for residents to charge lights and other equipment to lower the risk of fire.

“Removing the candle-fire risk will lower many incidents of reported fires,” he said.

Sinoville Firefighting Association spokesperson Zenobia Loock-du Plessis said it was sad that these fires still broke out and ruined hundreds of homes regularly.

Loock-du Plessis said many fires started accidentally due to ignorance. People did not know about the dangers of stacking wood close to the flammable materials used to build shacks and used open fires or paraffin to cook, leaving them unattended or not extinguishing them properly.

“It just takes a small breeze to spread a little spark to start a fire,” she said.

Fire safety

Loock-du Plessis said while there were many measures to take to ensure fire safety, educating people about the fire was the real solution.

She said there should be training or talks given in informal settlements to help residents protect themselves and their children.

Loock-du Plessis said they wanted to join hands with the people of the community to help educate residents and train members to react to fires.

Open fire dangers

The Fire Protection Association of South Africa reported that the largest contributor to informal dwelling fires was open fires.

It said due to a substantial amount of combustible material in informal settlements and the proximity of informal dwellings to one another, the spread of fire was quite rapid from one shack to another

. The limited space between such dwellings and/or the poor condition of road infrastructure also presented challenges for firefighters, preventing them from reaching the fire in time to extinguish it.

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