IT took Durban firefighters seven hours to extinguish a fire that broke out at an informal settlement in Effingham yesterday.
According to Bruce de Gier, Division Commander for the Durban Fire Department, one of the challenges firefighters faced was that there was no water in the area.
RELATED STORY: Fire in progress in Effingham
“I called in firefighters from Durban North, uMhlanga, Ntumzuma, Pinetown and Tongaat to assist. There were three fire engines and tankers that travelled to the eThekwini Heart Hospital to refill water on a rotational basis,” said De Gier.
Collectively, the vehicles transported about 60 000 litres of water over numerous trips.
“We had to work strategically and send a few vehicles at a time to refill. If you deplete all of your water supply and have to send out all your vehicles to refill, you’re basically going back to the start of trying to contain the fire,” he said.
Another challenge the firefighters had to deal with was the unruly crowd of people.
“We understand the panic and distress because these residents are losing the little that they have, however, their threats did not make our jobs any easier. Their world had come down on them, and they felt as if we were not doing our best to put out the blaze, so we had to also protect ourselves, our equipment and vehicles,” said de Gier.
The wind also did not work in their favour, and as a result of these challenges, coupled with the scale of the fire, 200 adults and 86 children have been displaced.
“There were no fatalities or injuries from the fire, but some people who were asthmatic and diabetic had to be transported to hospital,” he said.
A total of a hundred and 123 shacks no longer exist but Ward 34 councillor, Bobby Maharajh, says plans are being made to have materials delivered to the residents to rebuild, and for them to be placed in a temporary shelter in the meantime.
Disaster Management is on top of it, and building materials will be supplied. Donors have also come to the party and donated food and other items. Residents of the Effingham area are also donating items.
If you would like to donate items, the drop-off point is at the Virginia Airport, south entrance.
Contact Elham on 082 688 3295 or Sonja from Disaster Relief Support KZN – Rescue South Africa on 067 402 5270.
