A firefighter sustained injuries while dousing a fire at the Overcome Heights informal settlement on Wednesday 26 January.
The City’s fire and rescue spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said services were dispatched to the scene in the morning.
“The City’s Fire and Rescue Service was dispatched at 06:19 to structures alight in Overcome Heights.
“Fire crews from Lakeside, Wynberg, Ottery, Gugulethu, Constantia, Fish Hoek, Lansdowne, Mitchell’s Plain and Epping fire stations attended to the scene.”
He added that a total of eight firefighting appliances and 40 firefighters battled the blaze.
“Several informal structures were destroyed. One firefighter sustained injuries and was taken to hospital. The fire was extinguished at 08:47,” said Carelse.
Meanwhile the City’s disaster risk management department and fire and rescue service initiated a public education and awareness campaign after an increase in informal settlement fires in the last few months.
In a statement, the City’s Mayco member for safety and security Alderman JP Smith said the campaign was to improve residents’ preparedness.
“The campaign is not only to educate communities in high risk areas on the causes of fires, but is also aimed at improving residents’ awareness and preparedness for fires.”
He added that the City’s firefighters responded to 531 fires in informal settlements from Monday 1 November last year to Monday 3 January, compared to 485 for the corresponding period in 2020/2021.
“Every fire is devastating no matter the extent of the damage to property, more so when lives and livelihoods are lost. Some communities are at higher risk and more vulnerable than others.”
Door-to-door education and awareness will be conducted at high risk informal settlements.
“We have planned interventions for the next few weeks that will reach the 20 top high risk informal settlements. The education and awareness will be done door-to-door, but our staff will also visit day hospitals, clinics, libraries and do poster drop offs at schools, public transport interchanges and other community hubs.
‘We’re doing everything we can to protect vulnerable communities from the devastation caused by fires. I encourage residents to take heed of the safety messages and implement them. It may never be needed, but it is best to be prepared,” said Smith.
