- More than 200 homes have been destroyed in a devastating fire in Philippi.
- A woman died inside her home.
- Residents said they were "very sad" that this is how their new year started.
It's a bleak start to 2023 as a woman died and more than 200 homes were destroyed after a devastating fire ripped through Polar Park informal settlement in Philippi in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The City of Cape Town's fire and rescue spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said the woman sustained fatal burn wounds. Fire crews were alerted to the fire at 02:40.
"Several crews were dispatched and the first arriving officer confirmed that numerous structures were burning. More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze, which was brought under control at about 06:00," Carelse added.
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers said they received calls from members of the community requesting urgent assistance. The organisation's Ali Sablay said when they arrived at the scene they discovered it was "worse than what we thought".
"People lost everything. The situation is dire. When people saw the team arriving, they hurried to the vehicles to request help. Many of the mothers got emotional when they started telling us that all their children's new school clothes and stationery were burnt," Sablay said.
While Carelse said the cause of the blaze was unknown at this stage, the chairperson of the Polar Park committee, Teenage Mtiyane, 49, told News24 that the fire started at the deceased woman's house.
"She died inside her house with the gas stove [on] and that is how the fire started and spread," he said. "Unfortunately, the wind also played its part in moving the flames to other parts of the community, which has left more than 200 people without [shelter]."
According to Mtiyane, a lot of the residents lost their stokvel money, food, clothing, documents, and school stationery in the fire.
"There are people who have gone to other provinces for the holidays and have to be informed that their homes were destroyed in the fire," he said.
Thandazwa Mpontshane was not home when the fire broke out. She said she was "extremely heartbroken" when she got to the property to see that her home had been destroyed.
"I have lost absolutely everything. I'm only left with the clothes that I am wearing. I have no idea where my child and I will be going from here. It's stressful to even think of that now at the start of a new year," Mpontshane added.
Tembela Getze, 43, arrived home from church to discover that her home and her belongings had gone up in smoke.
"It's very sad because all my stuff was inside my home. I can't make food for my three kids, I don't know where we are going from here. Eish," an emotional Getze said.
The Gift of the Givers said they would remain on the scene until the full extent of the damage had been assessed.
Carelse said emergency crews were on the scene conducting mop-up operations.
Western Cape police were also on scene and their comment will be added once received.