Seven shacks burn down in Protea South
The shacks burned when one of them caught fire and due to the close proximity of the others, they too caught fire.
Shack fires are a commonality during the winter months but in a first in Protea South informal settlement, seven shacks burned down last Friday evening leaving one injured and in hospital.
The shacks burned when one of them caught fire and due to the close proximity of the others they too caught fire. The cause of the fire remains unknown but it is suspected to be an illegal electricity connection which could’ve been faulty.
“We thought the fire was started by a paraffin stove but when we checked properly the stove was still intact. The fire happened so fast, it didn’t even take long for it to spread. It was actually like a bomb,” said Lovers Hadebe, a resident and eyewitness of the fire.
The informal settlement of Protea South is currently still being supplied water via JoJo tanks which made it difficult to distinguish the fire as the water in the tanks ran out before the fire brigade arrived on the scene. This left the shacks burned to the ground which left the residents with nothing.
“I was sleeping when the fire started, I didn’t hear when [my neighbour] called for me. I only saw that the shack was on fire when I opened my blankets and saw flames. I tried to get a few things including the money that I was saving but I couldn’t get it,” explained a pained Carlos Junior Nhamageho.
[also read] – Prayer for safety at Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Rockville- Soweto
Ward 10 PR Councillor Maureen Mnisi weighed in on the matter: “I have been speaking out about this thing of having a lot of people living in one space and how dangerous it is. The City of Johannesburg really needs to look into changing the living situations in informal settlement to stop similar things from happening in future.”
The injured victim of the fire lost his sewing equipment which he uses to make a living. Residents who are willing to donate their equipment or building material so that they can rebuild their shacks are urged to contact Maureen Mnisi on 082 337 4514.
Residents are urged to take the following steps to prevent fires provided by Emergency Management Services spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi.
For any life threatening emergencies call 10177 on Telkom landline or 112 on your Cell phone or 011 375 5911.
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