Khayelitsha fire razes 50 shacks

A fire gutted 50 shacks in the area

A fire at an informal settlement at Khayelitsha in Cape Town has left about 150 people homeless.

Khayelitsha is a partially informal township on the outskirts of Cape Town on the Cape Flats and is reputed to be the third largest township in South Africa. It is home to between 500,000 and 1 million people, and runs for a number of kilometers along the N2.

Cape Town Fire says 50 shacks were gutted in the blaze that broke out at about 11pm last night. Four fire fighting units managed to douse the flames after four hours. No one was injured during the blaze. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.

The area is notorious for shack fires that quickly spread from dwelling to dwelling because of poor infrastructure.

City warns of high fire risks
The City of Cape Town earlier warned that the risk of fire was still high despite a dramatic decrease in the number of emergency and disaster related incidents over the festive period.

The city says fire incidents were reduced by almost half, from the 806 incidents recorded during the 2006 festive period to 467 in 2007. Councillor, Dumisani Ximbi, says the city appreciates the responsible behaviour of residents over the holiday period. - SABC