Ninety people have died in fires around Cape Town since the beginning of the year, nearly twice the number who perished in blazes in the first eight months of last year.
On Saturday night, three people, including one who was eight months’ pregnant, died in a huge fire that left 200 homeless in a Kuils River informal settlement.
Nomfuselo Hoyo, 39, who was pregnant, died with her 19-year-old daughter, Unathi Hoyo, and grandchild Asthandi, 4.
Last month, 29 people died in fires in suburbs and informal settlements. Seventeen children have died in fires since June.
Cape Town Fire and Rescue’s Theo Layne said 67 of those deaths were in informal settlements and 23 in formal housing.
The city’s disaster risk management spokesman, Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, said that between January and the end of August last year, 49 people died in fires. This means fire-related deaths have nearly doubled, which has horrified Western Cape Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz.
He said today he was particularly concerned by how fires were affecting informal settlements.
The paraffin industry had run awareness campaigns on safety, but efforts needed to be stepped up “as a matter of urgency”.
More than 200 people were left homeless by Saturday’s fire in Vrygrond, Kuils River.
In C section, groups of people left homeless huddled near their gutted homes.
“My sister was eight months’ pregnant. I can’t believe it. And the worst is she didn’t die because she was sick, but because of this disaster,” said Hoyo’s distraught sister, Nothembile Maxiniva.
Maxiniva said neighbours were alerted to the fire just after 11pm on Saturday. They believed it had started in her sister’s shack.
“When I got there Unathi was crying inside and kicking the door, trying to get it open, but she couldn’t and the fire just became bigger and bigger. It wasn’t nice,” a weeping Maxiniva said.
She said Unathi’s partner and their seventh-month-old baby, who also lived in the shack, were in Gugulethu at the time.
Late last night, Hoyo’s husband, Zoyisile, returned home. He was working in the Eastern Cape when he received the devastating news.
“I can’t believe it, it just doesn’t feel real… they’re all gone,” he said.
Yesterday, Vrygrond resident Anathi Luthango, 22, said she arrived home in the early hours yesterday to a “total mess”.
“It was burning all over and everybody was so shocked and trying to save what they could.”
Layne said firefighters battled for three hours to contain the blaze, which razed 60 homes. The cause was being investigated.
But community leaders believed more homes and lives could have been saved had fire hydrants been more clearly marked.
“They used seven pipes just to get to the fire from the hydrant. Some hydrants are not even working properly or (are) overgrown by grass. In other areas it’s marked and people know they shouldn’t build there,” said Shamil Adams, a disaster risk management centre volunteer.
Community leader Johannes Pula said:
“They don’t even have toilets in this place and the firemen can’t access the shacks built so closely together.”
Layne said a team would investigate the allegations.
- Cape Argus
On Saturday night, three people, including one who was eight months’ pregnant, died in a huge fire that left 200 homeless in a Kuils River informal settlement.
Nomfuselo Hoyo, 39, who was pregnant, died with her 19-year-old daughter, Unathi Hoyo, and grandchild Asthandi, 4.
Last month, 29 people died in fires in suburbs and informal settlements. Seventeen children have died in fires since June.
Cape Town Fire and Rescue’s Theo Layne said 67 of those deaths were in informal settlements and 23 in formal housing.
The city’s disaster risk management spokesman, Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, said that between January and the end of August last year, 49 people died in fires. This means fire-related deaths have nearly doubled, which has horrified Western Cape Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz.
He said today he was particularly concerned by how fires were affecting informal settlements.
The paraffin industry had run awareness campaigns on safety, but efforts needed to be stepped up “as a matter of urgency”.
More than 200 people were left homeless by Saturday’s fire in Vrygrond, Kuils River.
In C section, groups of people left homeless huddled near their gutted homes.
“My sister was eight months’ pregnant. I can’t believe it. And the worst is she didn’t die because she was sick, but because of this disaster,” said Hoyo’s distraught sister, Nothembile Maxiniva.
Maxiniva said neighbours were alerted to the fire just after 11pm on Saturday. They believed it had started in her sister’s shack.
“When I got there Unathi was crying inside and kicking the door, trying to get it open, but she couldn’t and the fire just became bigger and bigger. It wasn’t nice,” a weeping Maxiniva said.
She said Unathi’s partner and their seventh-month-old baby, who also lived in the shack, were in Gugulethu at the time.
Late last night, Hoyo’s husband, Zoyisile, returned home. He was working in the Eastern Cape when he received the devastating news.
“I can’t believe it, it just doesn’t feel real… they’re all gone,” he said.
Yesterday, Vrygrond resident Anathi Luthango, 22, said she arrived home in the early hours yesterday to a “total mess”.
“It was burning all over and everybody was so shocked and trying to save what they could.”
Layne said firefighters battled for three hours to contain the blaze, which razed 60 homes. The cause was being investigated.
But community leaders believed more homes and lives could have been saved had fire hydrants been more clearly marked.
“They used seven pipes just to get to the fire from the hydrant. Some hydrants are not even working properly or (are) overgrown by grass. In other areas it’s marked and people know they shouldn’t build there,” said Shamil Adams, a disaster risk management centre volunteer.
Community leader Johannes Pula said:
“They don’t even have toilets in this place and the firemen can’t access the shacks built so closely together.”
Layne said a team would investigate the allegations.
- Cape Argus
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