Cause of shack fire, death unknown

The cause of the fire at an informal settlement in Salvokop, which left 177 adults and 10 children homeless and one person dead over the weekend, is still unknown.

100 shacks gone in one weekend

City of Tshwane emergency services department spokesperson Nana Radebe-Kgiba said about 100 shacks were damaged in the fire at Bagdad Informal Settlement in Salvokop over the weekend.

“One person was discovered in the rubble after the fire during the early hours of Saturday morning. The fire has been contained, and firefighters are conducting damping-down operations to extinguish remaining hotspots,” she added.

In July, multiple shacks burned down at the informal settlement at the Centurion Taxi Rank, while in June there was a fire at the Bremer Street informal settlement, commonly known as the Groen Containers, and another in May at the Plastic View informal settlement, where over 200 shacks were destroyed in two incidents days apart.

Tshwane offers relief for affected families

Tshwane’s MMC for human settlements Aaron Maluleka, who visited Bagdad informal settlement, said the city has mobilised emergency relief for families affected by the fire.

Maluleka said the city’s disaster management team has made 50 mattresses available, while the department of community and social development has arranged cooked meals for affected residents over the weekend.

“The city’s food bank will be activated on Monday following a further assessment of the needs of affected households,” he added.

Last week, another devastating fire destroyed two homes on a smallholding in Andeon, west of Pretoria.