A BLACKENED spot of sand and burnt rubble was all that remained in the middle of the informal settlement of Overcome Heights, after 60 people lost their homes in a fire on Wednesday, 8 February.

According to Fawzia Cassiem, Overcome Heights Committee Chairperson, the fire allegedly started after a man left his gas stove burning when he left for work on the day.

“The fire started at about 14:30, five hours after he left and by then it was too late to do anything about it.”

Theo Layne, Station Commander of City of Cape Town’s Fire & Rescue Services, confirmed this and said the fire took 28 firefighters one-and-half hours to extinguish.

“It was started by a gas cooking stove that probably fell over or overheated.”

Fortunately there were no fatalities and no one was injured in the blaze, but emotional residents say they don’t know how to start again, because they lost every possession they ever had.

“I have nothing, I lost everything in this fire, all I have are the clothes on my back”, says Mzukisi Ntsantsa, one of the homeless residents.

Lufefe Mzobosehe, who lived in one of the shacks that burnt down, was still trying to clean up the area when People’s Post visited the scene on Thursday.

Mzoboshe was at work when the fire started and was shocked by what he saw when he got home. “I was totally blown away. You leave your house in the morning, but when you come back from work you see this. It saddened me.”

The young man was living with his girlfriend and 1-year-old baby but luckily neither of them were at home at the time.

Now the family of three sleeps at a family member’s home just a few meters away from where their home once stood.

Russia Kapu was sitting in his yard when he saw smoke billowing from the shack where the fire started.

“Me and my friend were just sitting and talking when we saw the fire. We immediately went to investigate. When we discovered that there was no one in the shack, we tried to kick the door down.”

Eventually the men realised they had to break the lock to get into the home.

“We took a brick and hit the lock until it broke, but the shack was already engulfed in flames. All we could do was to warn other people and try and save our own homes.”

By then, neighbouring owners of the burning shack started to get their things together, but according to them, thieves saw this as an opportunity to strike. One woman says her television set along with some blankets and other household goods were stolen after being saved from the fire.

The City’s disaster response teams were on the scene and provided the affected victims with food, blankets, clothing and building material.

Most of those affected have been taken in by family and friends until they can get material to rebuild their homes.

In total, 10 shacks burnt down and about 5 were damaged. Ward Councillor Shaun August says spacing at the informal settlement has always been a problem.

“People don't adhere to the ‘3 meter’ distance there is suppose to be between each home. When a fire starts, it easily spreads.” According to August, they are currently working on an upgrading system.

“We are looking into making things better for people living in this community, like fixing water problems, toilets and just providing better services. We need the community to work with us in order to make their living conditions better. It’s going to take some time but I believe we will get there.”