Fire leaves three-year-old traumatised and homeless
About 10 homes were burnt down on the morning of Tuesday, 26 June in the Princess informal settlement on Albertina Sisulu road.
According to residents, the fire started at about 6am and was caused by a gas stove that exploded because it was left unattended.
Read the initial article here: WATCH: Fire broke out in Princess informal settlement
A resident, Mampolokena Marumo, said that she was sleeping when her three-year-old daughter’s persistent coughing woke her up. Her daughter was inhaling smoke. Mampolokena then saw that the fire had already reached her shack. She rushed her daughter out the shack and took her to a neighbour’s house. She rushed back to her shack in an attempt to save her important documents such as her ID and passport, but the shack was engulfed in flames.
In a matter of minutes, the fire spread and burnt down the other shacks. Community members called the Joburg Emergency Services while trying to extinguish fire using buckets. Apparently the fire engine was too late to save the shacks. This angered the community and they chased the firefighters off the scene.
The Roodepoort Police were swiftly on the scene to make sure that the situation was controlled. Later on, officials from the City of Johannesburg’s Disaster Management department arrived and told the community who were affected by the fire that they would be provided with food and blankets for the time being.
Should you want to donate any old clothes, toiletries or anything else to these unfortunate fire victimes, please contact Mampolokena on 063 211 9395.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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