Three people died in two separate fires in Philippi and Fisantekraal on the evening of Tuesday, October 27 and the morning of Wednesday, October 28.
“The City’s Fire & Rescue Service responded at 9.45pm to reports of informal structures alight in Tulip Road, Heinz Park,” said Jermaine Carelse, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson. “Fire crews from Gugulethu, Mitchells Plain, Ottery and Landsdowne Road were dispatched to the incident. The first arriving officer from Gugulethu confirmed informal structures alight and was informed people were inside the burning structures.”
Firefighting and rescue operations ensued simultaneously. The bodies of a woman and an infant – whose gender is unknown – were discovered amongst the debris. Two structures were completely destroyed and two partially damaged. The fire was extinguished at 10:47pm.
“In the second incident just after 4am, the Kraaifontein fire crew were first on scene in Dulah Omar Street where an informal structure was burning. A single structure was destroyed and a man sustained fatal burn wounds. An elderly woman was treated for smoke inhalation and transported to a nearby hospital. The fire was extinguished at 4.40am,” Carelse said.
Both scenes were handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS).
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