Mercury: Residents left destitute as blaze guts 46 shacks

http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3904433

The day before the Seaboard Hotel fire drama, firemen and paramedics were out dealing with a major blaze in Lamontville’s Sihlahla Road that raged through an informal settlement, destroying more than 40 shacks.

The midday fire started when a resident left his electric stove on while he went to visit friends on Sunday, unaware that it was overheating, which caused a fire.

The settlement was largely deserted at the time of the blaze. Residents returned home later to find that their dwellings and possessions had been reduced to ashes.

Grade 11 pupil Zanele Majavu, 18, who shared a shack in the area, said she was at a friend’s house studying when she received a call telling her to rush home because “everything was burning down”.

“All our belongings are gone; I lost my school books, my uniform and my cellphone. We could only salvage a few dishes, stove, radio and a small suitcase with a few of our things,” Majavu said.

Mamyeketsi Sekhoacha, another Sihlahla Road resident, was left with only the clothes on her back.

“I was in town when the fire started, and by the time I got back everything was gone, we couldn’t save anything. All we have left are the clothes we are wearing,” she said.

Most of her neighbours were now sleeping in the open, afraid to leave their belongings in case they were stolen.

Some, however, have been given shelter temporarily at a nearby hall.

Social Welfare Department head James Mlawu said that affected families would be counselled, and pupils would be helped by providing them with uniforms.

ntokozo.mfusi@inl.co.za