Another fire destroyed over 90 homes, displacing more than 150 people at the Kennedy Road Informal Settlement in Durban on Thursday.

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) spokesperson, Senzelwe Mzila, said disaster management teams responded to a fire on the evening of Thursday.

Mzila said the fire displaced 156 people, including 127 adults and 29 children, and destroyed approximately 92 informal dwellings.

“Action by firefighters contained and extinguished the fire, preventing further spread. According to initial assessments, no fatalities have been reported,” he said.

However, Mzila said three people sustained minor burn injuries and received medical attention from emergency personnel on the scene.

CoGTA MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi dispatched a team from the Provincial Disaster Management Centre to conduct a full assessment of the damage and to coordinate a multi-departmental government response for the affected residents.

“Humanitarian relief efforts were initiated by social partners, including the South African Red Cross Society and the Gift of the Givers Foundation, who are providing aid such as meals, blankets, and hygiene packs to the affected families,” said Mzila.

The Gift of the Givers shared on its social media platforms that the organisation was alerted to the situation and requested to assist 30 firefighters, who had been battling the flames for almost five hours.

“Our team responded promptly, distributing energy drinks and snack bars to the grateful firefighters,” said the humanitarian aid organisation.

Speaking on Saturday, Aslam Essa, who is a Gift of the Givers community liaison officer, said a team from the organisation, in coordination with the eThekwini Disaster Management team, provided food supplies for meal preparation.

Essa said rice, maize meal, porridge packs, canned beans, peanut butter, teabags, samp, oil, and gloves were provided.

“This support will help the community sustain itself while they rebuild their homes,” he said.

This incident is not isolated; the Kennedy Road Informal Settlement has faced a series of devastating fires.

Just last month, a similar blaze displaced 150 residents and claimed the lives of 25-year-old Nontle Mbanga and 18-month-old Niphiwe Bandile Zulu.

CoGTA took the initiative to provide comprehensive burial support to their bereaved families, with Niphiwe receiving a dignified funeral service at the Kennedy Road Hall on July 28, and Mbanga’s service held shortly after on August 2 in Mount Frere, Enjinjini, in the Eastern Cape.

karen.singh@inl.co.za

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