FIRES GUT INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

The Gift of the Givers has stepped in to assist after a series of devastating fires displaced more than 100 people across multiple informal settlements in Cape Town on Monday night.

Project coordinator Ali Sablay said the organisation responded to calls for urgent assistance from residents in KTC, Gugulethu, as well as in Eerste River and Belgravia.

Sablay says: “In just one night, we received three reports of separate incidents where numerous homes were destroyed

“In KTC, Section 6, Gugulethu, approximately 36 informal homes were gutted, leaving close to 100 people displaced.

“Community members and fire victims in KTC reached out to us for urgent support. As the fire spread, residents lost all their belongings. We have deployed teams to all three sites to provide immediate humanitarian relief, including hot meals, clean drinking water, blankets, and hygiene packs.”

With the Kaapse winter setting in and mense using fires to stay warm, Sablay has expressed concern.

He says: “We’ve noticed a rise in fires in informal settlements over the past few months. As people struggle to stay warm during the cold weather, they resort to unsafe methods, which tragically result in destruction.”

According to Ward Councillor Suzanne Zumana, this is not the first fire to ravage the area.

“Fortunately, no one was injured.”

The city's Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, said they began receiving emergency calls from NY78 in the KTC informal settlement, Nyanga, just before 11pm on Monday before crews were also dispatched Hillview, Eerste River and Barham Road, Belgravia, later in the night.