Fires leave two dead, destroy 10 homes

While firefighters monitored an area in the Overberg where a blaze raged for nearly a week, a Nyanga man and an unidentified Eerste River resident were killed in two separate shack fires.

From 11pm on Saturday to on Sunday, five fires broke out in various informal settlements across the Peninsula, leaving 10 shacks gutted and more than a dozen residents homeless.

Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, acting head of the city's Disaster Risk Management Centre, said one person was killed in KTC, Nyanga.

'Don't leave open flames unattended, especially while we're in the fire season'

Gugulethu Police Station spokesperson Elliot Sinyangana said a 24-year-old man burnt to death in his Mbewana Street home. The man may not be named until his relatives have been informed. Sinyangana said the cause of the blaze was being investigated.

Another resident was killed in Boekenhout Street, Eerste River, when a shack burnt down. The identity of the Eerste River resident was not yet known.

A Wendy house burnt down in Somerset Heights, Eerste River, on Saturday. Solomons-Johannes said fire destroyed four shacks early on Sunday in the Samora Machel settlement, leaving five residents homeless.

Three dwellings were gutted in Langverwacht Street in Fisantekraal, Durbanville. Solomons-Johannes said fire destroyed another shack in Europe, Nyanga. The causes of the fires were not yet known and were being investigated.

A few firefighters monitored the area above Gordon's Bay where a blaze had raged for nearly a week, but was extinguished by on Sunday. Two Gordon's Bay homes were gutted and seven others damaged. At least 21,000ha in the Steenbras Dam catchment area was destroyed.

Solomons-Johannes urged residents to be careful when making fires, and using candles and paraffin stoves.

"Don't leave open flames unattended, especially while we're in the fire season. Put out candles and switch off lamps and paraffin stoves before you go to sleep. People who braai must not make fires in prohibited areas, and don't throw cigarette (butts) out of (car) windows." - Cape Times