Thousands of people have been left homeless, after a fire destroyed over 200 shacks at the Selby Informal Settlement in Johannesburg. The Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) the fire has been contained and that no casualties or injuries have been reported thus far.
“At this stage we’re just extinguishing the hotspots, to make sure we don’t have any reignition of the fire.The cause of the fire is still a subject of investigations,” said EMS spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi.
Some of the residents said they only managed to safe few belongings and lost everything, including ID’s and school children’s clothes.
According to Mulaudzi, the city’s disaster management officials have been activated, to start assisting the displaced families with resources like blankets, clothes and food parcels amongst others, and to determine if there might be a need for a temporary shelter.
In addition, he encouraged residents, especially in informal settlements, to exercise caution when using heating devices like paraffin stove and candles, and to ensure that they’re not left unattended to prevent such disasters.
