A 38-year-old Malawian man, identified as Thomas, was killed and scores of homes destroyed in a fire that tore through a section of Angelo informal settlement during the wee hours of August 24.
According to residents, the fire started just after midnight and was ultimately contained a couple of hours later. When the Advertiser arrived, people, including small children, were seen running to escape the flames, with others carrying some of their furniture.
It’s unclear as to what caused the fire, but residents on the scene believe that the tragedy began in the killed man’s shack. It then spread through the section before consuming dozens of homes.
Residents were seen trying to stop the fire from burning more homes by pouring water on it, with others risking their lives entering burning shacks to save their belongings.
This dramatic video clip shows the tragic scene of fire engulfing homes as residents were trying to save what they can from the blaze:
A witness on the scene, who did not want to be named, said he had heard people shouting that there was a fire before he went outside to check and noticed huge flames engulfing people’s shacks.
“We realised the fire was moving closer to our homes and many people got up and we rushed to the scene and started pouring water, but the fire was too strong and it kept on coming towards the other nearby shacks.
“Some neighbours were still asleep at the time. We alerted them and they began moving things out of their shacks to save them as the fire was getting closer.”
More firefighters arrived but battled to get closer to the fire because the shacks were built so close to each other. There was no space between shacks for fire engines to move, meaning they had to park their vehicles very far, something that slowed the firefighting process and led to the fire spreading quickly.
The area also lacks hydrants and firefighters had to rely on one at the nearby filling station.
With the help of some of the residents, the fire crew on the scene subsequently managed to put the flames under control, and they continued damping down the flames and the fire was completely doused later in the morning.
History of tragic fire
One of the community leaders, Jerry Masilela, told the Advertiser that the section in question has a history of tragic fires. “Fires constantly break out here, and such situations get exacerbated because the shacks are built close to each other allowing no space for emergence services to get closer to the affected area. So this place needs reblocking,” said Masilela.
Ekurhuleni Emergency Services spokesperson William Ntladi said he was still waiting for his team to submit all the relevant information on the tragedy. – @MthuphaFanie
