Durban — Residents of the informal settlement Dakota, in Isipingo, south of Durban, said when a fire broke out on Saturday night, everything happened so fast that one grabbed what was next to them and ran for their lives.
The eThekwini Municipality said about 350 informal units were destroyed, leaving hundreds of residents displaced. Residents observed the damage on Sunday morning on site.
Some residents were on the side of the road sleeping in their beds, while others were sitting there looking lost.
Some residents were giving out their details to people who were wearing municipal T-shirts. Others were seated next to where their homes had been.
One resident, Zoleka Hloniphile, said a lot of her important possessions, including her ID book had been burnt.
“I had gone to a funeral on Saturday. When I came back in the evening, I heard someone shouting kuyasha emijondolo (shacks are burning). I grabbed what was next to me and ran away. There was no time to think,” she said.
Another resident, Nonjabulo Tshazi, who was sitting with her family in the ashes of what had been her home, looking defeated, said she was inside when she heard someone alerting her that there was a fire.
“I opened the door to see a fast-moving fire coming towards our home. I could not think of anything,” she said.
Tshazi said they lived with a 5-month-old baby who was unharmed. She said they took what was in front of their eyes and ran before the fire could get to them.
Nomusa Mkhize, who is a ward committee secretary, said the police responded fast and alerted the firefighters as they could not get hold of them because of the network.
Mkhize said there were a lot of shacks that burnt down on Saturday and about 1 000 people lost their homes.
Lindiwe Khuzwayo, a PR councillor in the area, said they provided residents with a place to sleep and non-profit organisations provided food.
“We will put a tent out at the Dakota beach so that we can get the details of the people and be able to give the Gift of the Givers names because some people might come to claim even though they were not affected,” she said.
Khuzwayo said some people were rushed to health facilities but they were not critically injured. eThekwini Municipality said its firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the blaze and managed to save 50 dwellings.
“Displaced families have been relocated to a nearby community hall where they are being provided with necessities. The City’s disaster management teams are conducting assessments to determine the nature and extent of further assistance to be provided,” said the City.
Meanwhile, IPSS Medical Rescue managing director Dylan Meyrick reported that five family members in Stanger sustained minor to critical injuries after they were trapped in their burning home.
“Fortunately the surrounding residents quickly came together and were able to remove a gate and fences with the use of a winch, allowing the family to escape and the KwaDukuza Municipality Fire Department to gain access to the house,” said Meyrick.
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