Shack fire leaves families destitute
More than 10 people, including children as young as two years old, were left homeless after a fire reduced their shacks to ashes at the Road Reserve informal settlement, in Ramaphosa.
The fire victims and community leaders are calling on Good Samaritans to help the destitute with food, clothing and building materials.
According to residents, the fire broke out just after 12am on Wednesday morning, August 20.
The four families involved lost all their belongings in the fire. They are only left with the clothes they were wearing.
Octavia Shabangu, who shares a shack with her husband, says she woke up to find the shack surrounded by smoke and flames.
“Soon our shack also caught fire, and the only thing we could think of was to save ourselves. We sprinted out of the shack as other neighbours did likewise. We are now left with nothing.”
One resident said he could smell a fire and thought someone was burning wood outside to keep warm, but then he realised that his neighbours’ shacks were ablaze.
According to a neighbour, Nikki Phillips, residents mobilised to gather water, but the fire was already out of control.
Apart from minor smoke inhalation, no serious injuries were reported.
The Ekurhuleni Disaster Management provided assistance to the affected families by providing food parcels and blankets, and the Red Ants helped the victims rebuild their shacks.
Phillips says the only solution for this problem is rearranging the compacted shacks in the informal settlements.
“This will prevent fire from spreading from one shack to another, and will also create space for roads to make the informal settlements easily accessible.”
Dozens of shacks in the area were also gutted by fire last year, leaving scores of families homeless.
The Ekurhuleni metro had recently embarked on an awareness campaign about safety during winter.
Officials urged communities not to leave open fires, stoves, paraffin heaters and candles unattended.
If you want do donate something, call Phillips on 083 594 6865 or Angie Reiners on 083 647 8337.
– @FanieBoksburg
