One person died and more than 90 people were left homeless after a devastating fire ravaged at least 43 shacks at Sisonke informal settlement in Mfuleni on Sunday 12 June.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
The residents appealed to local business people and good Samaritans to support them with clothes and other relevant items.
Resident Thembisa Nkunkwana said the shack fire started at about 04:00. “I was woken up by some of the residents who were shouting fire-fire. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my clothes and wore them. I woke up my 12 year old child and took out our bags,” she said.
Nkunkwana blamed lack of services in the area for spreading of flames which destroyed many shacks. However, she applauded the fire fighters for arriving in time to extinguish the flames.
“If we had communal taps we would have extinguished the shack fire quickly. We were using sand to stop it,” she stated.
Nkunkwana said their primary concern is shelter. She said most people in the area are unemployed. Sisonke is one of the areas that were established in 2019 by enraged people.
Provincial police spokesperson Capt Frederick Van Wyk said Mfuleni police officers attended a fire incident at Sanitizer informal settlement.
“After the fire was extinguishedthe body of a 35 year old male was discovered. Approximately 55 shacks were affected. The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage,” he said.