By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Residents of the Cemetery View informal settlement in Woodlands, Pretoria can be seen rebuilding their homes after a fire on 21 March 2022. Picture: Jacques Nelles.
Three people have died in a fire that gutted the Woodlands Cemetery Informal Settlement, east of Pretoria, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Charles Mabaso said the fire broke out at around midnight, burning an estimated 400 shacks.
“Firefighters arrived on scene to find multiple shack dwellings on fire, with flames more than 20m high,” he said.
“Multiple explosions of what is thought to be gas cylinder bottles could be heard during firefighting operations that were carried out during windy conditions.”
“We discovered three [bodies] burnt to death, among them a 5-year-old girl. The cause of the fire is not yet known.”
Ward councillor Malcolm de Klerk said when he arrived on the scene when the fires erupted, it was “devastating” to see how residents stood at a distance and watched their homes go up in flames.
Some residents have stayed in the densely populated area for more than seven years.
De Klerk estimated that at least 1 000 people had been left without a place to stay.
He added that as soon as it was safe, residents got into their vehicles and started collecting equipment to rebuild their homes because many had nowhere else to go.
“It’s unfortunate that they started rebuilding their homes on the site as it is an active crime scene. I am aware that some residents were found dead. It was unclear if the bodies found are related,” said De Klerk.
Gauteng has seen a growing number of informal settlements over the years, according to provincial Human Settlements MEC Lebogang Maile.
There were currently over 700 informal settlements across the province in areas such as Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni since 2016, with most of them being unauthorised.
Maile cited illegal land invasions as the one of root causes behind the increase.
He stressed that government was still committed to eradicating informal settlements as residents needed to be relocated to a safe place.