FLEURHOF fire victims are battling to pick up the pieces after a fire destroyed 44 shacks, leaving them homeless and with no clothes.
The Extension 5 informal settlement shacks in Joburg caught fire on Sunday, 3 September, leaving two kids aged five and two dead, while their mum sustained injuries and was rushed to hospital.
The affected residents told Daily Sun they had been moved to the recreation centre for accommodation, but there is no privacy as both men and women share the same space.
Matshidiso Mashile (36) spoke about how she saved the mum of the two dead kids.
She said she is still traumatised and can hardly sleep when she thinks about what happened on that fateful day.
"I love drinking alcohol but I didn't drink that day for some reason. When I tried drinking, I would spill my alcohol on the floor. I then decided to stop. Little did I know there would be a fire in the shacks. I woke up early to smoke and when I went out, I saw a shack on fire. I called out my other neighbour and we saved the deceased's mother through a window since the door to her shack couldn't open," said Matshidiso.
She recalled how removing the injured mum was a struggle as some of her skin was peeling off.
"We unfortunately couldn't save the kids. I heard them screaming, but the fire was very strong and nothing could be done at that time," said Matshidiso.
She said that she would appreciate it if counselling could be organised for her to deal with the traumatic experience.
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Community leader Siyonela Sompali said that the affected victims need food donations.
"People are looking for houses, and we refuse to be given materials to rebuild our shacks again. The shacks may continuously catch fire because we use candles and paraffin stoves. There is no electricity here, and most people are not working," said Siyonela.
She said that the only way to permanently tackle shack fires is for the government to allocate houses for the people.
EMS spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said the fire incident is believed to have been caused by an unattended candle.
"City of Joburg firefighters attended to the multiple shacks on fire which involved about 44 shacks, two young children lost their lives, and one adult female suffered minor injuries, was treated for smoke inhalation and later transferred to a health facility for treatment," he said.
Gauteg Human Settlements MEC Lebogang Maile visited the fire victims on Monday, 4 September. He urged the residents to stop invading land illegally.
