600 people left homeless after Western Cape inferno

Lisalee Solomons

A devastating fire ripped through the Masiphumelele informal settlement in Western Cape, South Africa in the early hours of Saturday morning, leaving 600 people homeless.

The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre has since put out a call to the Gift of the Givers to assist those in need.

According to the City of Cape Town’s fire and rescue spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, the team responded to the blaze at 01:23 on Saturday.

“The City’s Fire and Rescue Service was alerted that there were informal structures on fire in Masemola Street,” said Carelse.

Fifteen fire-fighting units from fire stations and 50 firefighters extinguished the blaze by 07:24.

“No injuries or fatalities were reported,” he added.

Gift of the Givers, which was on the scene, said preliminary assessments indicated that 152 informal homes had been gutted.

“Our teams were out preparing hot nutritious meals which were delivered at noon with bottled water, blankets, and baby care packs as an initial intervention,” said project manager Ali Sablay.

Speaking to News24 from where their homes once were, residents expressed their “hurt” in not being able to salvage what they had inside their homes.

Richard Davids, 45, said he had lost his brand new cellphone.

“I’m very sad. I paid a lot of money for that phone because I needed it to look for jobs, and now the phone is burnt. I’ve been living here for over four years and every time fires break out it’s devastating for me,” he said.

Zyandiswa Manyube, 47, said she’s been living in the settlement for six years and didn’t manage to save anything.

Manyube said: “I tried to grab my clothes, but the fire was too big and (hot). So I left with nothing. I slept last night at my friend’s place and now I’m (going) to rebuild my home today.

“Manyube said her neighbours have already started to rebuild her home, and she’s hopeful she will be able to move in later today.”

Rebecca du Toit said she’s “had enough” of fire outbreaks in the area.

“I’m fed up with the fires in the area now. Every year the same thing happens, every year we lose all our belongings to these fires. I’m not coming back, I’m going to stay with my family in Hanover Park. I’ve lost count of how many fires have broken out here over the years and it’s very disturbing,” Du Toit said. Musa Williams from Gift of the Givers said they are feeding more than 1 000 people in the area.

“We have two big pots of akhni that will be distributed, as well as soap, washing powder, and any other essentials that people may require,” said Williams. —News 24