WATCH | Government steps up response after KwaJika Joe fire destroys more than 500 homes

Government has begun assessing the needs of hundreds of residents left homeless by Saturday’s devastating Jika Joe fire, with Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane expected to visit Pietermaritzburg this week. More than 300 people affected by the blaze have already had their details recorded as authorities work to determine the extent of the displacement and what assistance will be required. KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma’s spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, said the department was responding to the disaster and would engage further on the situation during the week.

The government intervention follows one of the most destructive fires to hit Jika Joe in recent months. Ward 33 councillor Suray Reddy said on Saturday that more than 500 shacks had been engulfed, with the devastation stretching from Burger Street towards Ohrtman Road. Hundreds of families were left without shelter, while many residents escaped with little more than the clothes they were wearing.

One resident toldThe Witnessshe was forced to abandon a disabled elderly man after desperately trying to pull him from his burning shack. “As I was rushing, trying to get out with the little things I had, an old man who was disabled couldn’t move. I tried to pull him out of his shack, but he was too heavy.

[paywall]

He even said to me I must leave him as he saw I was failing to assist him,” she said. Another resident, Skhumbuzo Zwane, said he escaped with only his cellphone and charger. “I was only able to get out with my phone and charger.

[/paywall]