Families, children displaced as fire ravages shacks near The Bluff
The victims are appealing to residents and businesses to donate food and clothing after the fire destroyed their homes.
SHACK dwellers were left destitute after a fire ravaged almost 130 shacks in Mangaung Informal Settlement near The Bluff on Thursday morning (November 14).
School children of all ages lost their textbooks and school uniforms when the devastating blaze destroyed their homes.
Also read: UPDATE: Patient sets herself alight, causes fire at Clairwood Hospital
On Saturday (November 16), residents were picking up whatever they could salvage from the charred remains of more than 100 shacks.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation
The cause of the blaze has not yet been established, however, residents alleged that the fire started at one shack before it spread to the entire informal settlement.
Some of the belongings that were destroyed include:
*IDs and other crucial documents
*Food
*Furniture
*Clothes
Shack dwellers appeal to residents to help with donations
Sihle Gumede said he was asleep when he heard a loud bang, followed by his neighbours’ screams alerting others that there was a fire.
“I woke up and went out to investigate. My neighbours were all running around trying to put out the fire. The flames started to spread to other shacks and I ran back to get my ID and blankets while the thick black fumes had already started to engulf other shacks. I dragged my mattress out, but I was unable to save the food and other belongings,” said Gumede.
Also read: Land invasion on The Bluff: Squatters refuse to budge
Another resident who lost everything in the devastating fire is Nompilo Nzimande – a single mother raising a four-year-old child.
She said she was at work when her neighbour alerted her about the fire.
“I had to leave work and rushed back home. When I arrived, neighbours were busy trying to extinguish the flames. There was no way we could save our belongings because the flames were spreading so rapidly due to the strong wind. The groceries and baby food in the house burnt.
“We are left with just the clothes we are wearing after the fire completely destroyed our house,” she said.
Residents said the fire took more than an hour to extinguish.
eThekwini Disaster Management team responds to fire incident
The municipality’s Disaster Management Centre and Fire and Emergency services worked through the night to assist the affected families.
“So far no injuries or fatalities have been reported, however the teams are currently on site investigating the cause of the fire and assessing the impact.
“Various municipal departments, non-profit organisations and social relief partners are on site to assist those that are affected,” eThekwini Municipality said in a statement.
Unemployed Sanele Shabalala was unable to salvage anything. Looking exhausted and in despair, Shabalala said he had just left the informal settlement to look for piecemeal jobs when a neighbour called him to say there was a fire.
Also read: WATCH: Fire guts Clairwood informal settlement
A temporary marque structure, which is separated into men and women sections, has been erected to accommodate the affected families.
In the interim, eThekwini Municipality and other organisations are working in partnership to find a long-term solution.
Ward 32 councillor Protas Ngonyama visited the displaced families on November 16 to get their first hand experiences of the blaze.
Ngonyama said the officials from eThekwini Municipality were working on finding a permanent solution that would bring aid to the victims.
Ward 66 councillor Zoë Solomon urged the public to assist with donations.
She said a hall on Tara Road would be opened for the public to drop off any items that would then be distributed to the affected families.
Ward committee member Thulani Ngcobo said the mushrooming of informal settlements was out of desperation for land as many people were unable to afford to pay rent in urban areas.
“We have people coming from other provinces who come to urban areas to look for employment. I have been a resident of this informal settlement for the past 13 years,” said Ngcobo.
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