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

Alfred Malete said he was at work when he received a shocking call from his neighbour who told him that his two-roomed shack was on fire on Tuesday morning.

Malete said the fire destroyed everything he owned, but nobody knows what caused it.

He said when he left for work in the morning, everything was in order and all the electric appliances were off.

“Nobody knows what happened or who started it.”

According to the neighbours, the fire started in the bedroom and spread to the kitchen.

The neighbours saw smoke and rushed to check whether someone was inside the house.

“They tried everything they could to stop the fire with water buckets, but it only took a few minutes before the entire house caught fire and destroyed everything.”

Malete said he lost everything he owned, from furniture to clothing, to valuable documents.

He said he is in desperate need of clothing as well as building material donations to rebuild his shack.

Tshwane Emergency Service spokesperson, Nana Radebe-Kgiba, said the cause of the fire could not be determined.

Radebe-Kgiba said emergency services call on residents to exercise caution while using space heaters and other heating sources during the winter period, among other precautions.

These include not using an imbawula in an unventilated place, not sleeping with an imbawula inside the house as the toxins are very dangerous, not leaving heaters and candles unattended, ensuring stoves are switched off before leaving the house or going to bed and never placing stoves near curtains or any appliance that may catch fire.

In case of fire, immediately dial 107 for help.

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