Many left destitute as fire rips through two Cape informal settlements

Tragedy struck for those living at two informal settlements in Cape Town, on Christmas Day as they were woken up in the early hours of Wednesday, to structures alight.

The City of Cape Town’s Fire & Rescue Service estimates that more than 200 informal structures were alight in the Ekuphumleni informal settlement, Dunoon.

Spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, said a man was treated for burn wounds and firefighters are still on the scene damping down efforts.

‘’At approximately 01:55 we received multiple calls of informal structures alight… More than 15 frontline fire engines and water tankers with over 70 staff were on scene from various fire stations as the strong wind made firefighting efforts challenging,’’ said Jermaine Carelse, city of Cape Town’s Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson.

He said firefighters managed to contain the blaze by 05:45.

Meanwhile, its estimated that close to 20 people are destitute following an early morning fire at Freedom Informal Settlement in Nomzamo, Strand. This comes a day after a fire in the same area that broke out at the Wag ‘n Bietjie Informal Settlement, leaving a man deceased.

‘’At around 03:50 reports were received of informal structures alight… Crews from Strand, Sir Lowry’s Pass, Macassar and Landsdwone were dispatched and by 05:30 firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze. Our initial estimate is that seven structures were destroyed leaving 17 persons displaced,’’ said Carelse.

 He said no injuries or fatalities were reported and the cause of the fire is unknown at this stage.

 

Done by: Mitchum George