Raging fire leaves families destitute

Ten families watched as the little that they had turned to ash on Wednesday evening as a fire razed their homes in the eDongweni informal settlement in Kwazakhele.

And though some of those affected were able to arrange  to be taken in by family and friends, at least 25 people have been left homeless, without food or clothing.

The displaced families who could not find accommodation are being housed at a temporary shelter.

At least 10 shacks were razed and, though no-one suffered any burn injuries, one woman sustained a broken leg as panicked residents fled the blaze, according to Ward 16 councillor Gama Manqula.

The injured woman was being treated in hospital, Manqula said.

The fire is believed to have started in a neighbouring shack, though this could not immediately be confirmed.

Sizeka Gaji, 39, who lost everything in the blaze, said it broke out at about 7pm and the scene thereafter unfolded as if it had been taken from a movie script.

“The clothes you see me wearing now are clothes I received from a friend,” Gaji said.

“When the fire broke out I was in my pyjamas.

“Luckily for me I came home early and had stepped out of home with my four-year-old son.”

Now left with the difficult task of picking up the pieces, the informal dwellers said their greatest concern was not being able to get their Sassa (department of social development) grants next week because all their possessions, including their cards and identity documents, had been burnt.

Most of the displaced people rely on the grants as their only stable source of income.

Overwhelmed by emotion, Noncebe Sikhundi said she did not know what would become of her and her children, one of whom is disabled and lost his wheelchair in the blaze.

“We were all inside the house when the fire started.

“We weren’t even aware that there was a fire until people started shouting outside,” she said, adding that by that time the neighbouring shacks were in flames.

“I live with four children between the ages of 18 and nine, and my 13-year-old son is disabled.

“While my children were trying to get the wardrobe out the shack, the neighbours were helping me get my son out through the window,” she said.

The 59-year-old said she was unemployed because she had to take care of her disabled son.

“He can’t talk or do anything for himself so I stopped working to take care of him full-time,” Sikhundi said.

Manqula said he arrived at the scene at about 8pm and immediately notified the metro’s disaster management.

“Disaster management provided those that had no alternative places to go to with blankets and mattress,” he said adding that he then moved them to a temporary shelter.

Manqula said he had also made arrangements for the families to be fed on Thursday.

Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki confirmed that the Nelson Mandela Bay fire department had responded to the fire report.

“The fire department was dispatched to extinguish a fire in Kwazakhele where 10 shacks burnt down, fortunately there were no [burn] injuries reported.

“We do not yet know the cause of the fire, however, the municipality’s disaster management team have made [the] necessary interventions,” Mniki said.

Speaking to the displaced families on Thursday morning, Bay human settlements political head Andile Mfunda said the municipality would ensure that they were taken care of and their basic needs met.

“I was notified about the fire late last night by the ward councillor and I promised to personally come to see and hear what immediate interventions need to be done.”

He said he would meet municipal officials on Friday and recommendations aimed at assisting the displaced families would be made at the meeting.

“It is a shame that around this time of the year shack fires are most prevalent,” Mfunda said.

“It is a greater shame that these people come from nothing and have lost everything.

“What we as the municipality want is to ensure that they do not feel the pinch of the cold weather and are safe from the [Covid-19] pandemic that has gripped society,” he added.