Over 100 shacks were ravaged by fire at Neva-Neva informal settlement, Philippi, yesterday (8 February), leaving nearly 1 000 people homeless.
It is unclear what led to the incident, but according to community leaders, it happened after the load shedding.
The informal settlement, one of Cape Town’s oldest, is situated adjacent to the Golden Arrow Bus terminus on Symphony Way.
Community leader Nowethu Sautana said they are devastated by the incident.
She said they did not know what to do.
“We saw the smoke coming out in one of the shacks. The flames started to spread because there was a bit of wind,” she explained.
They are waiting for the City officials to clear the site so they can rebuild their shacks.
“The fire started after 16:00, just after load shedding. We saw the smoke coming out from one of the shacks. And the flames spread quickly because there was a bit of wind,” she explained.
Sautana stated that the shack where the fire started was empty.
The owner was at work.
“We have about 1200 shacks in this section. I think there are less than 50 shacks that are left now. We are not safe here. We were lucky because the fire started in the afternoon. If it was at night there could have been some casualties,” she stated.
When City Vision visited the scene in the morning on Thursday 9 February the City officials were busy assessing the damage.
Some victims were busy clearing their plots to rebuild their homes.
The City’s Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said his department received an emergency call at approximately 16:20.
He said the fire crews from Mitchell’s Plain, Gugulethu, Wynberg, Roeland Street, Bellville, Lakeside, Epping and Belhar, with a total of five fire engines, two water tankers and two rescue vehicles, were dispatched.
“No injuries were reported. The fire was extinguished just before 22:00. There is no evidence of load shedding causing fires, although this increases the risk. Residents must please ensure electrical appliances are switched off during load shedding to avoid the risk of fire and tripping when the power comes back on,” said Carelse.