WITH the onset of winter rains, illegal electricity connections that hang precariously low above many city homes are being cited as a major fire hazard.
This was among the frustrations expressed by some residents of the Witsand informal settlement, after a fire ripped through the area yesterday morning, leaving one man dead and about 150 people homeless.
Resident Nolufefe Mbombo, 43, said the combination of illegal connections and rainy weather was “very dangerous”.
“Once it rains then you hear the static, and with a lot of wind there’s friction, which cause fires.”
Standing amid the scorched remains of what was once people’s homes, Mbombo pointed at wires on the ground which might have snapped during the fire.
“Other people are already fixing damaged wires. It’s very dangerous.”
Ward 32 councillor Barbara Rass, in whose jurisdiction Witsand falls, agreed that illegal connections were a serious cause for concern.
Rass said she had appealed to Eskom to provide the area with “legal” electricity.
“Tragedies like these can be avoided if we don’t have these illegal electricity connections. Water and electricity just don’t go together.”
Rass explained that residents were desperate to generate more heat during the cold spell. But without a safer alternative, they would continue setting up illegal connections.
Eskom’s Western Cape spokeswoman, Jolene Henn, said that despite having invested millions of rands in campaigns to raise awareness about electricity and safety, the practice of “electricity tapping” still occurred.
“Communities are fully aware of the dangers in distributing electricity in the manner they do, but still continue with these unsafe acts. Eskom regularly removes illegal connections, but the perpetrators reconnect as soon as staff leave the area.”
Henn said Eskom would continue treating illegal connections as a “serious social issue”, and engage communities to curb the dangerous practice.
Witsand, she added, had been earmarked as part of Eskom’s electrification project.
The city’s Fire and Rescue spokesman, Theo Layne, said the cause of the Witsand fire was still being investigated.
He said that while it was difficult to determine how many homes were razed as a direct result of illegal connections, it was definitely a huge problem.
Last year, the fire service recorded more than 1 000 shack fires, and since January this year 400 shack fires had already been reported.
Layne said the dangling wires were present in almost all informal settlements, posing a risk not only for residents, but also for firemen.
“Each time we respond to a call and have to drive between the overhead wires, we put ourselves and vehicles at risk.”
Two firefighters had been shocked by illegal wiring.
Due to the poor quality of wire being used, the connections proved “extremely dangerous”.
“This often leads to the wires overheating, short circuits and the insulation being ignited, which spreads rapidly.”
- Cape Argus
This was among the frustrations expressed by some residents of the Witsand informal settlement, after a fire ripped through the area yesterday morning, leaving one man dead and about 150 people homeless.
Resident Nolufefe Mbombo, 43, said the combination of illegal connections and rainy weather was “very dangerous”.
“Once it rains then you hear the static, and with a lot of wind there’s friction, which cause fires.”
Standing amid the scorched remains of what was once people’s homes, Mbombo pointed at wires on the ground which might have snapped during the fire.
“Other people are already fixing damaged wires. It’s very dangerous.”
Ward 32 councillor Barbara Rass, in whose jurisdiction Witsand falls, agreed that illegal connections were a serious cause for concern.
Rass said she had appealed to Eskom to provide the area with “legal” electricity.
“Tragedies like these can be avoided if we don’t have these illegal electricity connections. Water and electricity just don’t go together.”
Rass explained that residents were desperate to generate more heat during the cold spell. But without a safer alternative, they would continue setting up illegal connections.
Eskom’s Western Cape spokeswoman, Jolene Henn, said that despite having invested millions of rands in campaigns to raise awareness about electricity and safety, the practice of “electricity tapping” still occurred.
“Communities are fully aware of the dangers in distributing electricity in the manner they do, but still continue with these unsafe acts. Eskom regularly removes illegal connections, but the perpetrators reconnect as soon as staff leave the area.”
Henn said Eskom would continue treating illegal connections as a “serious social issue”, and engage communities to curb the dangerous practice.
Witsand, she added, had been earmarked as part of Eskom’s electrification project.
The city’s Fire and Rescue spokesman, Theo Layne, said the cause of the Witsand fire was still being investigated.
He said that while it was difficult to determine how many homes were razed as a direct result of illegal connections, it was definitely a huge problem.
Last year, the fire service recorded more than 1 000 shack fires, and since January this year 400 shack fires had already been reported.
Layne said the dangling wires were present in almost all informal settlements, posing a risk not only for residents, but also for firemen.
“Each time we respond to a call and have to drive between the overhead wires, we put ourselves and vehicles at risk.”
Two firefighters had been shocked by illegal wiring.
Due to the poor quality of wire being used, the connections proved “extremely dangerous”.
“This often leads to the wires overheating, short circuits and the insulation being ignited, which spreads rapidly.”
- Cape Argus
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