Fire destroys shacks in Khayelitsha

Zimbini Mvundlela salvaging what she can from the ruins of her shack. Photo: Masixole Feni

A fire destroyed 10 shacks and displaced scores of shack dwellers in Site B, Khayelitsha, on Monday.

The fire was thought to have started when a gas stove was lit in one of the shacks.

Shack dweller Vuyokazi Mananga said other shack dwellers could not douse the fire as there was low pressure in the only tap because the water had been diverted to several shacks.

There is also a pipe, but without a tap.

‘’We scooped sand with our washing basins and threw it at the fire, but a strong wind fanned it,’’ said Mananga.

Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service, said fire crews had been alerted at 3pm, and the blaze had been extinguished by 6pm. No injuries had been reported.

Community leader Zodwa Mbana said the firefighters had struggled to enter the area as it has no roads.

The shack dwellers “lost everything, including SASSA cards, school reports and IDs’’ in the fire as they were at work when it broke out, she said.

Ayanda Ngcebetsha, who works as a cleaner, said she lost her three beds, washing machine, stove, microwave, fridge, wardrobes, TVs and clothes. ‘’It took me years to build my shack and buy the furniture. It will take me years to recover from the loss,’’ she said.

City spokesperson for disaster risk management Charlotte Powell said 10 dwellings had been destroyed and 42 people were affected. A request for assistance had been sent to SASSA.

Fridges and other appliances were destroyed in the fire.

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