Victims of the Alex fire victims rebuild their homes.
Alex’s woes were compounded on 4 April when 61 shacks – home to 161 residents – were razed to the ground by a fire said to have been caused by a child frying eggs on an electric stove.
The incident happened in the late afternoon and luckily there were no fatalities, except for one casualty who was treated for head wounds at Edenvale Hospital.
All the victims of the fire were said to have lost all their worldly possessions except for the clothes they were wearing and a few documents they had in their pockets such as identity documents and bank cards. One woman was said to have lost R1 500 in cash which was half burnt and another victim was said to have lost R9 000 in cash.
The fact that the fire came a few months before the dreaded winter fire season raised concerns about the lack of preparedness for something similar happening. This has become a yearly pattern.
The aftermath of the shack fire.
More poignant was the cry to the government for proper housing for the many residents who live in shacks while their names have been on the housing waiting list for close to 20 years.
The victim’s shacks, perched on a steep slope behind the Helen Joseph women’s hostel, had councillor Adolph Marema expressing concern about the unsustainable temporary relief that could be afforded to the shack dwellers.
“We will continue to experience similar problems in the absence of a concrete long-term solution – housing which was promised but never delivered. Alex as a whole is a disaster area with the shacks and also the hostels which are in a dilapidated state,” Marema said.
Anny Makhado at what was once her home.
Victim Moses Makgoba who had to rush back home from work said his losses included television sets, stoves, fridges, beds, mattresses, clothes and essential documents. He was concerned about the risk ahead with winter coming when many will also want to use electricity together with paraffin stoves and braziers to warm their dwellings, many made of flammable material.
Rosina Kapa alleges this is where the shack fire started.
He urged for intensified fire prevention awareness, particularly for children who are left alone at home and have to warm or cook food after school without adult supervision when parents are still at work.
Sadly, some residents said they risked losing their jobs as they had to prioritise rebuilding their homes on stands they would lose to others who would take advantage of their absence. Some said some hard-hearted thieves had stolen their building materials.
Rebuilding after the shack fire.
Rosina Kapa and Anny Makhado who have lived on the site since 2011 were too distraught to recount their loss and asked for assistance with building materials to help them start afresh.
Meanwhile the local disaster management committee of the city council, which includes the departments of housing, safety and social development, NGOs and churches appealed for assistance. They provided limited relief for the victims with blankets, food and clothing and asked for urgent support with building materials while the victims stayed at churches, childcare centres and with some Good Samaritans.
Details: Robert Mulaudzi, Emergency Management Services 083 319 9036.
