Shack fires: NPO teaches youths to become firefighters

After years of witnessing the ravaging effects of shack fires in informal settlements, a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) from East London in the Eastern Cape is teaching unemployed youths how to become community firefighters.

Lindokuhle Mayabo, the founder of the Lindokuhle Mayabo Foundation and a registered NPO, says she has seen enough shack fires in her informal settlement community of Mzamomhle township in Buffalo City to know they can be prevented.

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COMMUNITY-BASED FIREFIGHTERS IN INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

“The plan is to have community firefighters who will work hand-in-hand with the city’s fire fighting department as well as medical professionals to prevent loss of life during disasters,” she says.

Mayabo says when disaster strikes, it is often difficult for the city’s fire department to respond in time, so having community-based firefighters in every informal settlement would save many lives and prevent significant property damage.

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ILLEGAL ELECTRICITY CONNECTIONS A MAJOR CAUSE OF SHACK FIRES IN BCM

In September last year, more than 50 shacks burnt down in Nompumelelo informal settlement in Buffalo City Municipality (BCM), leaving almost 100 people with no food and no places to sleep.

One of the affected residents said at the time; they had no choice but to use what was left of their burnt homes to construct makeshift shelters.

The fire was believed to have been started by Izinyoka (illegal connections); residents in the area said they had been without electricity for years, so they resorted to illegal electricity connections to light their homes.

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ASSISTANCE WITH FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AND FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT

Mayabo said the foundation aims to minimize the dangers of shack fires on people who live in informal communities, such as death and other fire-related injuries.

“We hereby request the public to assist us with donations such as fighting equipment, fire extinguishers, and health and safety courses. This will ensure that whenever there is a fire disaster, one of our community firefighters will be there on time to save lives,” she said.

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MORE THAN A THOUSAND SHACK FIRES IN JOHANNESBURG BETWEEN 2022 AND 2023

According to the Emergency Management Services, more than 1,500 shack fires were reported in the City of Johannesburg between 2022 and 2023, while 153 shack fires were reported in the City of Tshwane for the same period.

In the Western Cape, about 9 000 shack fires were recorded between 2019 and 2021, and almost 17 000 people were left displaced, while more than 60 people were killed.

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