A four-year-old child has been blamed for an inferno that destroyed more than 30 homes in Gugulethu, leaving over 100 people homeless.
The fire in Barcelona informal settlement allegedly started after a child threw a firecracker on an old mattress.
Residents say the laaities were playing near a hokkie where the fire started around 2pm on Tuesday.
A resident who was affected by the blaze tells Daily Voice: “I wasn’t around when the kids were playing with the crackers.
“One child who is pointed out as the main culprit is about four years old, even though we know there may have been older kids with him.
“There is nothing that we can do to him because they were just playing and we have no choice but to restart our lives.
“The sad thing is that the City doesn’t provide building material anymore, we have to find our own way of rebuilding our homes.
“We have temporarily moved in with our relatives while we wait for donations.
“We have gone to SASSA for IDs and vouchers but were told that they have closed and might open next week.
“We are worried about the (school) stationery and uniforms which were destroyed in the fire.”
Community leader Nono Ngondo says about 100 people have been displaced and some have nowhere to go.
“The disaster management team arrived and donated sponge mattresses and blankets, though people are grateful for that, but it is not enough, the fire victims need to rebuild their homes and we don’t know how they are going to do that.”
She says they will be taking to task spaza shop owners who sell klappertjies to children.
According to City bylaws it is illegal to sell firecrackers to the public without a valid permit.
“We are going to have a meeting with them because they are not supposed to sell these things to children, especially four-year-old children,” adds Ngondo.
Jermaine Carelse, the City’s Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson, says the emergency call was received at 14:10 of structures alight in Barcelona Informal Settlement on Tuesday.
“Crews from Lansdowne, Mitchells Plain and Kuils River were on scene. Crews managed to extinguish the fire by 16:30 which destroyed approximately 30 structures and left 100 persons displaced.
“The cause of the fire is unknown and no injuries or fatalities were reported.”