EDITORIAL: Political will needed to fight fires
Cape Town’s long history of fighting fires has not equipped the city to deal with the blazes that have become a routine feature of life in its informal settlements
The City of Cape Town boasts that its fire and rescue service dates all the way back to 1845. Back then, much of the country didn’t even have established municipalities or towns.But it has become depressingly clear that Cape Town’s long history of fighting fires has still not equipped the city to deal with the blazes that have become a routine feature of life in its informal, impoverished and squatter settlements.Last week, fires raged with unrelenting force across the shackland of Khayelitsha, killing at least one person. Khayelitsha is home to more than 400,000 people, many of whom live in shacks with no running water and no reticulation. But when the fires destroyed 500 of their homes last week, the rather simple prospect of a fire engine coming to their rescue did not even arise in the minds of many of the residents.Stats SA says each shack in Khayelitsha has 3.3 occupants on average. That means in last week’s disaster, about 1,500 people lost their homes. It’s important to reme...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.