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- In the aftermath of a devastating blaze that destroyed over 100 shacks and left more than 400 people homeless, Mangaung informal settlement residents, in Lower Crossroads, are picking up the pieces to rebuild their shacks.
- The calamitous inferno broke out on Sunday 17 March morning and rapidly illuminated the neighbourhood, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
- While the cause remains a mystery, the damage has been immense.
In the aftermath of a devastating blaze that destroyed over 100 shacks and left more than 400 people homeless, Mangaung informal settlement residents, in Lower Crossroads, are picking up the pieces to rebuild their shacks.
The calamitous inferno broke out on Sunday 17 March morning and rapidly illuminated the neighbourhood, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
While the cause remains a mystery, the damage has been immense.
Xolelwa Mbelembushe, one of the victims, shared how she lost almost everything, including her daughter’s school uniform. “I am only left with the clothes that I am wearing now and a small bag with my documents. My seven-year-old daughter didn’t go to school today because she doesn’t have clothes including a uniform,” Mbelembushe, told City Vision during an interview on Monday 18 March.
Explaining what happened, she said: “I heard people screaming ‘fire, fire!’ at night. I went outside to investigate. At that time, the flames were still far from my shack. I have a brother who stays on the other side of the settlement, where the fire started. I locked my shack and ran to check on my brother,” narrated Mbelembushe, adding that she left her daughter with her father.
The devastated mother said they collected her brother’s belongings and kept them in her shack.
While the fire seemed to be under control, Mbelumbushe said strong winds fuelled the blaze, making it difficult to control. “The firefighters arrived quickly. We relaxed because we thought they would contain the flames. The flames spread so fast to our shacks. All my other belongings, including my brother’s stuff burned inside my shack. We were unable to take out our stuff,” said Mbelembushe.
She is now concerned about a place to sleep and clothes for her child.
The family currently shares a house with friends and is unsure what the future holds.
Ward 35 councillor Mboniswa Chitha described the situation as shocking. He said the City has opened a community hall for people to move to. A local church has also opened its doors to accommodate needy residents. “Some people are staying with their friends and relatives. Others are sleeping here (on the site) looking after their building material. We need any kind of help for people to be able to rebuild their shacks. For now, we are still verifying the number of the shacks that were affected,” said Chitha.
He stated that the issue of housing development is not clear as the residents in the area illegally occupied the area in 2014.
“This site was identified for building a school, but they invaded the space. There is nothing talking about building houses for them,” explained Chitha.
The City’s Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said the City’s Fire & Rescue Service was alerted at approximately 02:45 of informal structures alight in Mvubu Road, Philippi.
“A team of 13 firefighting crews were on scene with over 40 firefighters battling the blaze that was fanned by a very strong wind. By 08:40, firefighters managed to contain and extinguish the fire. Our initial estimate is the fire destroyed over 100 informal structures, leaving more than 400 persons displaced,” he said.
Carelse said the cause of the fire was yet to be determined and Law Enforcement was deployed to ensure crowd control.
While the City Vision visited the area on Monday 18 March the City’s trucks were busy cleaning for people to be able to rebuild their shacks.
