SST informal settlement residents were left traumatised after a woman and her 18-month-old son were killed in a shack fire on Sunday.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Resident Mandlenkosi July said the incident started just after midnight. He said he was already sleeping when the fire started.
“I heard people shouting ‘fire-fire’ outside. When I went out to check, I realised it was a bit far from our shacks. I stood outside and watched until the firefighters extinguished it. I was worried and thinking, what if the flames spreads to our shacks,” he said.
July stated that firefighters were quick to respond, but the cause of the blaze remained a mystery.
“Later in the morning, I heard that there were people who died in the fire. I didn’t get closer to the scene. After the firefighters extinguished the fire I went to bed again. According to the people who were on the scene, the body of a woman and a child were found in the debris,” he explained
July stated that earlier this year, more than 70 shacks were destroyed by fire in the community.
Jermaine Carelse, the City’s spokesperson for Fire and Rescue Service, confirmed the incident. He said a mother and son died in the fire.
He said the City’s Fire and Rescue Service was alerted shortly after 00:30 of informal structures alight in SST.
“Crews from Khayelitsha, Lansdowne and Mitchell’s Plain were dispatched to the scene. Crews were confronted with several structures burning. Just after 02:00, the fire was extinguished and four structures were completely destroyed.
During overhaul operations, firefighters found the body of the mother and her child (18 months old) beneath the debris,” said Carelse.
He said the cause of the fire is unknown and the scene was handed over to the police.