Drug-fuelled fire tears through community, leaves 39 people homeless
A family from Clarke Estate say they have “lost everything” after a fire — allegedly ignited by a drug-impaired neighbour — swept through their community, destroying 12 structures and displacing 39 residents.
Jamie-Lee Cupido, known as “Ouma”, told the Daily Voice that she lives with her mother, sister, and three young children in a backyard dwelling behind the property where the fire broke out around 4pm on Wednesday.
“I was in the house with my three grandchildren when I started calling for help,” she said. “No one came. Everyone ran to where the fire had started. I was struggling to get the children out of the house.”
She described how the tightly packed wooden wendy houses and the presence of flammable materials, including wood and paint buckets, made it impossible to save any belongings. “We lost literally everything. The wind was strong, and the flames spread too quickly,” she added.
Cupido alleged that the fire was the result of negligence by a neighbour under the influence of drugs, who had started a fire inside his dwelling that ignited containers of oil and paraffin.
“The man behind us who caused the fire was high on drugs,” she claimed. “He lit a fire, took a hit of mandrax, blacked out, and that’s what started the blaze. He collects rubbish — paint buckets, oil, paraffin — everything was in there.”
She added that it was not the first incident linked to the same neighbour. “We warned him several times and even threatened to call the police, but he never listened. When the fire broke out, he was passed out on the grass. He didn’t apologise or try to help.”
Cupido and her family are currently staying with relatives. She said her household, along with eight others, has received humanitarian assistance from Gift of the Givers.
The organisation’s project manager, Ali Sablay, confirmed that affected residents were provided with food hampers, blankets, hygiene items, water, and baby care packages.
Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Edward Bosch said firefighters responded to reports of wood and iron structures alight.
“Six firefighting vehicles from Bellville, Durbanville, Milnerton, Kraaifontein, and Mitchells Plain fire stations responded,” he said. “Upon arrival, multiple informal structures were already ablaze.”
The fire displaced 39 people, all of whom have been accounted for. One adult female sustained burn injuries to her arm and was treated on the scene by Metro ambulance personnel.
IOL