Burning mattress destroys four homes
ZANDSPRUIT - A landlord's eviction of a tenant results in fire
On 15 January a fire in Zandspruit destroyed four shacks.
As related by community leader Tobie du Bizanie, the source of the fire was a mattress set alight by a landlord who wanted to evict a tenant. The fire soon spread to neighbouring shacks.
Ward 114 Public Relations councillor Linus Muller said, “Residents of the informal settlement tried calling the Emergency Management Services (EMS) but no fire truck was ever dispatched and no other emergency services responded to calls. The community was left to extinguish the fires by themselves.”
Resident Calvin Mdou feels lucky to have escaped, but at the same time is devastated he lost his shack and belongings. “I’m busy rebuilding my shack, but it’s not easy as we need materials to rebuild our homes.”
“Apart from councillor Maureen Schneeman’s donation of loaves of bread and a couple of bottles of cool drinks, the city offered no humanitarian relief at all. Dorcas Aid South Africa also assisted residents with groceries and bedding,” Muller said.
Du Bizanie said that the surrounding community can feel free to contact her should they want to donate anything to residents affected by the fire.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Housing councillor Tshepo Mhlongo stated that the fire would have had less of an impact on a Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) house than a shack, as the RDP houses contain fire deterring materials. “Zandspruit has more than 5000 shacks. Only a very small portion of the area has been formalised to RDP homes that have services like water and electricity, but the bulk of the area still needs to be formalised.”
No comment was received by an EMS spokesperson at the time of going to print.
Details: Community leader Tobie du Bizanie 072 301 5467.
