Residents in Taiwan informal settlement in Site C, Khayelitsha, were woken up by a fire alert this morning, January 2.
Chairperson of Taiwan Project Steering Committee, Sibusio Mdlankomo, said it is not clear what caused the fire that destroyed three shacks and three cars.
“We are treating this as a sensitive matter as we don’t want to speculate, because if we speculate we will be starting war among residents.”
He said they would wait for the authorities to investigate.
Resident Boniswa Majila said they were grateful the fire was doused before it spread to more shacks, which would have been a catastrophe as some residents are away in the Eastern Cape for the holiday.
Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for the City’s Fire and Rescue Service, said they received a call at 6.50am of shacks burning in Taiwan.
“The fire was detected via CCTV camera. Fire crews from Landsdowne and Mfuleni Fire Stations attended to the scene and managed to extinguish the fire by 8.35am.”
He confirmed that three shacks and three motor vehicles were completely destroyed, leaving nine people displaced, and said the cause of the fire is unknown.
