Fire in Emalahleni leaves 1 dead, 66 displaced

The impact of the fire: 22 households affected and a community seeking help in Pietermaritzburg. One person was killed and others injured whenfire broke outat the Coal Yard (Emalahleni) Informal Settlement in the Msunduzi Municipality, Pietermaritzburg, in the early hours of Sunday. The blaze started at approximately 4.29am, affecting roughly 22 households and impacting around 66 residents.

Ward 32 councillor Garth Middleton said he called the fire department to extinguish the fire and later contacted the Msunduzi disaster management team. According to him, the 25-year-old man was rushed to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. One or two other residents sustained minor injuries.

“With the family that lost a member,disaster management, along with Social Development, will be taking care of that, and they’re engaging with the family today onwards,” Middleton said. “One of the children that was in school, social services are also on that, in terms of uniform and learning material.”