Thursday's fire follows a blaze that struck the same settlement in the early hours of Sunday.
Tshwane says relocation plans are underway after another devastating fire at Plastic View highlighted ongoing informal settlement challenges. Picture: iStock
A rapidly spreading fire tore through Plastic View informal settlement in Tshwane on Thursday evening, marking the second devastating blaze to hit the densely populated community in under a week.
This has raised urgent questions about the safety and future of residents living there.
Fire breaks out again just days after Sunday’s disaster
Tshwane Emergency Services received the call just after 7pm and immediately dispatched firefighting resources to the area.
On arrival, crews found the camp engulfed in flames, with preliminary reports indicating that more than 100 shacks had been affected. This is far larger than the one affected by the Sunday fire, which had already displaced dozens of families.
Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya was among the first officials to arrive on the scene, accompanied by MMC for Human Settlements Aaron Maluleka, as well as Councillors Wilkinson, De Klerk, and Viljoen.
Speaking on the ground, Moya acknowledged the weight of the moment.
“It is quite a sad evening. We are back in Plastic View. We were here on Sunday because there was a fire here that burned a number of shacks, 59 shacks. Unfortunately, around 7 o’clock, we got another call that there had been another fire.”
Watch: The second blaze at Plastic View Informal Settlement
Firefighters battle access challenges as blaze spreads
The City of Tshwane Emergency Services Department noted in its official statement on Thursday that the settlement’s layout made operations significantly harder.
“Firefighting operations were further challenged by limited access routes within the squatter camp, making it difficult for fire engines to reach certain sections where the fire was spreading.”
Despite these challenges, firefighting teams worked to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further.
At the time of the statement, no injuries, casualties, or fatalities had been reported.
However, residents were unable to confirm whether anyone was missing, as many community members had been trying to save their belongings and evacuate during the incident.
Search and mop-up operations were set to continue to ensure all residents were accounted for.
Moya urged the public not to converge on the scene.
“The firefighters are on site, and it’s all hands on deck. The medics are on site. We will keep the residents updated in terms of the developments. We just want to allow the teams to work.”
She also acknowledged the support that had come from within the community itself.
“We are so grateful that there are community members who have come to assist, as well as the officials, especially the firefighters, who were first on the scene. But we are just asking that the residents should not come and just manage the space here.”
Fire extinguished, but the damage is greater than Sunday’s incident
In a later update, Moya confirmed that the fire had been extinguished and that crews were busy damping down smouldering ashes.
She said the SA Police Service and Pathology Services had been called to the scene, indicating the possibility of fatalities.
Relief efforts were coordinated with the Human Settlements Department and the Community and Social Development Services Department.
The Emergency Services department also pointed to a pattern of behaviour that drives fires in communities like Plastic View.
“Informal settlement fires spread rapidly due to the highly combustible materials often used in the construction of shacks. The absence of electricity and of unsafe use of candles, imbawula, and paraffin or gas stoves left unattended, becomes a major contributor to the increase of fires in informal settlements,” it said.
Residents were urged to exercise caution when using electrical appliances, open flames, and heating devices, particularly as winter approaches and the risk of residential fires increases.
Looking ahead, the department confirmed that investigations would follow once the immediate crisis had passed.
“Preliminary investigations will be conducted to determine the cause of fire once firefighting and overhaul operations have been completed,” it said.
Sunday’s fire had already displaced nearly 200 residents
Thursday’s fire follows a blaze that struck the same settlement in the early hours of Sunday, 24 May.
According to the Emergency Services Department’s confirmed assessment, 59 shacks were affected, displacing 154 adults and 39 children.
The Community and Social Development Department was deployed to provide relief, while the Human Settlements Department assessed the need for emergency housing provision.
At the time, Moya outlined a longer-term plan to permanently relocate South African residents from the settlement.
A site had already been identified in Pretorius Park, with teams in the planning phase.
“The plans are still the same, that we need to relocate the South Africans that are staying here. The land has been identified at Pretorius Park, and the teams are busy now with the planning phase of the work that we need to do. But we know that that may be the easier part of the work that needs to be done here,” Moya said.
Foreign nationals complicate relocation process
The presence of undocumented foreign nationals at Plastic View has added a layer of complexity to the City’s relocation plans.
Moya said under the law, the City is only permitted to relocate South African citizens, meaning a separate process must be coordinated with the Department of Home Affairs for those who are not citizens.
She explained that an earlier attempt had been made to begin that separation process.
Furthermore, the mayor was candid about where the real difficulty lies.
“The relocation may be the easier part of it. The difficult part is to coordinate the other entities to assist us in separating the South Africans from the non-South Africans so that we can hand over the non-South Africans to Home Affairs.”
