Locals left homeless after multiple shack fire

A fire at Marathon informal settlement destroyed 39 shacks on June 13 with no loss of life.

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Leta Vasco Mabui suffered the loss of seven shacks during the incident.

When her three sons came from school, the situation was frightening for them. Tears ran down their faces as they were faced with the reality of having their home destroyed.

William Ntladi, DEMS media liaison, said the cause of the fire is still unknown. Witnesses, though, believe that a neglected brazier was to blame.

“It’s also believed that somebody was using a brazier to boil water while two children were still inside the house.

“The children managed to get away from the flames,” said Ntladi.

Residents who live near Isaac Ncube reported that he was taking a bath when the fire erupted and that he had to go outside naked to escape the blaze.

“I was able to recover a bag full of my child’s things, but some of the clothing was stolen during the commotion,” said Ncube.

All his documents were destroyed.

“I have not notified my partner yet as she is at work. She will return to an empty room,” Ncube said.

He expressed concern over the loss of identity documents for himself, his child, and the child’s mother in addition to the loss of belongings from his home.

Mabui said that one of the shacks was lent to Ncube as a result of her older children being away at work.

She remained steadfast for her children when they returned from school to blazing rubble and a place filled with bystanders and firefighters.

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As other affected individuals started to recover the rest of the burned corrugated iron, Mabui also expressed her worries about finding a place to sleep.

“We lost all our documents and furniture,” said Mabui.

“I just relocated my sister’s belongings with me so we can ship them to Mozambique. In addition to all of our clothes burning, we also lost refrigerators and a television,” she said.

“When the fire first broke out, I attempted to enter the house, but the wind and the proximity of the shacks caused the fire to spread more quickly,” said Mabui.

Mabui reported that her homes were only marginally impacted by the fire.

“Thankfully, my children were at school when the fire broke out because it originated in the rooms from which we had just relocated them. We request that anyone who can assist us do so,” said Mabui.

The firefighters received a call at 11:56 and the Primrose Fire Station responded to the scene.

As it was reported to be a big fire, Bedfordview and Edenvale fire stations were also deployed to the location, with Germiston and Wadeville stations were requested as backups.

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“Wadeville brought water tankers, which facilitated our work as we had to transport water since there were no hydrants nearby.

“According to the wind direction and an assessment of which shacks were in danger, we performed containment from two-dimensional sides,” said Ntladi.

Ntladi added that the firefighters are familiar with dangerous environments due to illegal electricity connections found laying and hanging on the ground and trees of the scene.

“We faced risks that could result in fatalities. Keep in mind that we are applying water to a live cable. Our crew is vulnerable. Someone can get electrocuted,” said Ntladi.

“Despite the difficulties, we succeeded in extinguishing the fire,” he said.