Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers is still assisting those affected by last week’s fires in Cape Town. This fire season began with fires in informal settlements, displacing hundreds of residents.
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Jermaine Carelse, the City of Cape Town’s spokesperson for Fire and Rescue Services, stated on Thursday, November 30, that several structures in Samora Machel were destroyed.
He stated that at 9.45pm, fire and rescue services were notified of informal structures on fire near Leonard Radu Road in Philippi.
‘The extent of the fire required several resources on the scene, and crews from Gugulethu, Mitchells Plain, Goodwood, Lakeside, Lansdowne, and Wynberg were on the scene.’
‘A total of 10 firefighting resources and 35 firefighters managed to contain and extinguish the blaze by 3am which destroyed an estimated 30 structures and left nearly 70 persons displaced. An adult male sustained a laceration to his foot, and the cause of the fire is unknown at this stage,’ Carelse said.
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Fire and Rescue Services were also notified of structures alight on Bristol Road, Philippi, at 4.30am in the second incident at Brown’s Farm on Sunday.
‘Several fire crews were on scene, and in addition, the Incident Management Team (IMT) was activated to assist in stabilising the incident. A total of 14 firefighting appliances with more than 60 staff were on scene.’
‘By 8.45am, the fire was extinguished, which destroyed an estimated 140 structures and left over 400 persons displaced.’
‘The cause of the blaze is undetermined, and no injuries or fatalities were reported,’ Carelse said.
Gift of the Givers spokesperson Ali Sablay told IOL that teams have been on the ground at the various locations since Friday, December 1, responding to the tragic scenes.
He stated that its teams were requested to assist by members of the community and disaster risk management teams.
Sablay stated that 85 structures were destroyed in Samora Machel, displacing 235 people, and 130 structures were destroyed in Brown’s Farm, displacing 330 people.
‘Gift of the Givers teams are assisting families with hot meals, blankets, toiletry packs, mattresses, and baby care packs. Our teams are on standby for this period known as the fire season, working closely with the Western Cape Disaster Risk Management Teams and the Department of Social Development (DSD),’ Sablay said.
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