A fire that broke out in the early hours of Sunday morning at the Plastic View informal settlement in Pretoria East has left several families displaced after multiple shacks were damaged in the blaze.

Emergency crews worked to contain the fire, as videos from the scene showed severe damage to some homes, with structures reduced to burnt debris.

According to Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Nana Radebe-Kgiba, emergency teams responded shortly after receiving reports of multiple shacks on fire just after 06:00.

“The emergency communication centre immediately dispatched firefighting resources from the Central, Silverton, Erasmuskloof and Mamelodi fire stations,” she said.

Firefighters worked to contain and extinguish the blaze to prevent it from spreading further through the settlement.

Radebe-Kgiba said residents were able to evacuate when the fire started and, at this stage, no injuries or fatalities had been reported.

“The exact cause of the fire is still unknown, and preliminary investigations will be conducted once firefighting operations have been completed and the scene has been declared safe,” she said.

She added that the city’s disaster risk management team would assess the extent of the damage and provide assistance to affected families.

Radebe-Kgiba also urged residents to remain cautious when using electrical appliances, open flames, candles, paraffin stoves and heating devices, especially during winter, when the risk of residential fires increases.

Resident and founding director of the Pretoria East Community Caring Forum, Deidré van Helsdingen, said she was deeply concerned by yet another fire at the settlement.

“I am extremely concerned about the continued fire incidents at Plastic View, as well as the ongoing safety and living conditions residents are facing there.”

Van Helsdingen said she had been among those advocating for the relocation of households from the informal settlement and had repeatedly engaged with the metro to get clarity on when this process would move forward.

“There is another meeting with the municipality scheduled for June 12, and hopefully it will provide clearer details on the relocation of some of the residents in Plastic View,” she said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

ALSO READ: Plastic View relocation plans on track – metro

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