WATCH: Shack fire in Denver informal settlement claims one life

Barely 24 hours after the shack fire in Kya Sands, another blaze has destroyed multiple shacks at an informal settlement in Denver claiming the life of one person.

Joburg Emergency Management Services said firefighters responded to multiple structures that had caught fire in the earlier hours of Friday morning.

Watch Mlaba informal settlement residents clear the area that caught fire at Denver in Johannesburg

Spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said 10 structures were gutted by the blaze.

“Search and rescue operation firefighters recovered a body of a 30-year-old man. He succumbed to smoke inhalation, and he was confirmed dead on the scene. No other injuries were reported.

“The cause of the fire is still a subject of investigation,” Mulaudzi said.

Precautions

Mulaudzi urged residents to take precautions when using heating appliances.

“We want to encourage our residents to not to leave heating devices unattended so that we are able to prevent fire incidents like this one.”

ALSO READ: WATCH: 30 shacks gutted in Kya Sands fire, many left homeless

Kya Sands

On Thursday, at least 30 shacks were destroyed in a fire in Kya Sands, north of Johannesburg.

Mulaudzi said the cause of the fire is being investigated.

“We are looking at about 60 people who were left displaced.

“Our disaster management officials are already on-site facilitating relief for the affected families and also to look at the emergency shelter,” said Mulaudzi.

Shack fires

The City of Johannesburg has seen a number of shack fires during July and August, with incidents also reported in Fleurhof and Zandspruit which claimed the lives of three people.

Earlier this month, four people died in two separate shack fire incidents in the City of Johannesburg.

At the time, Mulaudzi said the tragic incidents took place in the early hours of the morning when the city was experiencing a cold front.

ALSO READ: Eight shacks gutted by fire in Diepsloot