--- title: "Three, including pregnant mother, die after fires ravage informal settlements in KZN and Western Cape" description: "Two informal settlements on different sides of the country were rocked early Sunday morning when devastating fires destroyed property and claimed the lives of three people, including a pregnant mother." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "DEADLY BLAZES" author: "Lerato Mutsila" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/lerato-mutsila/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-07-14-three-including-pregnant-mother-die-after-fires-ravage-informal-settlements-in-kzn-and-western-cape/" published: "2024-07-14T23:49:38" updated: "2024-07-15T05:28:44" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 601 --- # Three, including pregnant mother, die after fires ravage informal settlements in KZN and Western Cape > Two informal settlements on different sides of the country were rocked early Sunday morning when devastating fires destroyed property and claimed the lives of three people, including a pregnant mother. By Lerato Mutsila · Published 15 July 2024, 01:49 SAST · Updated 15 July 2024, 07:28 SAST ## Key points - Fires tear through Kenville (KZN) and Ramaphosa (Western Cape) informal settlements, leaving devastation and tragedy in their wake as homes are destroyed and lives lost, with Gift of the Givers stepping in to provide crucial aid. - Fires devastate Kenville and Ramaphosa informal settlements in Durban and Cape Town, claiming lives and destroying homes. - Over 100 homes razed in Kenville, leaving 300 displaced; young pregnant woman and unborn child among victims. - Gift of the Givers provides relief efforts, estimating 254 affected households; city arranging alternative accommodation. - Ramaphosa settlement in Cape Town also hit by blaze, two lives lost; People making fires inside during extreme cold weather the suspected cause. ## Content Residents of the Kenville informal settlement in Durban and the Ramaphosa informal settlement in Cape Town were struck a devastating blow as fires raged through the settlements, destroying homes and claiming lives early Sunday morning. Just after 12am on Sunday, a fire broke out at the Kenville informal settlement. The City of eThekwini’s Fire and Emergency Services unit responded to the blaze immediately, but by the time the team of 30 firefighters successfully extinguished the flames, more than 100 homes had been razed to the ground, leaving more than 300 people displaced. The devastating fire claimed the file of a young pregnant woman and her unborn child. ![Gift of the Givers on the ground in Kenville Informal Settlement in Durban, KZN, after a deadly fire destroyed more than 200 structures, resulting in the deaths of a pregnant mother and her baby. (Photo: Gift of the Givers)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Mn5mwN1JY49MGAlho9aJMmvjJak=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/9d697856-3bc4-46cc-9ddf-b14c3b56dda3.jpg) *Gift of the Givers on the ground in Kenville Informal Settlement in Durban, KZN, after a fire destroyed more than 200 structures, resulting in the deaths of a pregnant mother and her baby. (Photo: Gift of the Givers)* An eThekwini Municipality statement said the cause of the fire was unknown at this stage, and an investigation was under way. Speaking to *Daily Maverick,*Gift of the Givers community liaison officer Bilaall Jeewa said the disaster response NGO had been on the ground since 5am on Sunday, helping with relief efforts. “We estimate that around 254 households were affected. The city is arranging alternative accommodation for those that were affected,” Jeewa said. Gift of the Givers was offering hot meals to informal settlement residents affected by the fire, indicating that many had had nothing to eat since the blaze broke out. Jeewa said the organisation was working with disaster management to assess what the devastated community would require in terms of blankets, mattresses, food supplies and hygiene packs. #### **‘Worst fear came true’** ![A fire broke out at the Ramaphosa Informal Settlement in Philippi, Cape Town, claiming the lives of two people. (Photo: Gift of the Givers)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/iL3u99bse5iGrvS8Y56hTzc1TZI=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/61774618.jpg) *A fire broke out at the Ramaphosa Informal Settlement in Philippi, Cape Town, claiming the lives of two people. (Photo: Gift of the Givers)* In the Western Cape, the Ramaphosa informal settlement was also rocked by a blaze that claimed the lives of two people. *Daily Maverick* asked the City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management office for details of the blaze and what could have caused it, but by the time of publication, had not received a response. Gift of the Givers project manager Ali Sablay said that while the authorities were still investigating the cause of the fire, neighbours informed the organisation that, due to the extreme cold weather on Saturday night, a family made a fire inside an informal structure to keep warm. “They must have fallen asleep with the warmth, and with the inclement weather we are experiencing, the structure must have caught fire, burning them alive,” Sablay said. Gift of the Givers teams have been on the ground since the beginning of the series of storms that hit the Western Cape. During that time, thousands of informal settlements or informal structures were severely damaged and people had to be evacuated. ![The aftermath of the fire at Ramaphosa informal settlement in Philippi, Cape Town, that claimed the lives of two people. (Photo: Gift of the Givers)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/fVyoTfurWJqkD9t9FAIYBwNwzuU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/WhatsApp-Image-2024-07-14-at-11.05.49_c0b92d6f.jpg) *The aftermath of the fire at Ramaphosa informal settlement in Philippi, Cape Town, that claimed the lives of two people. (Photo: Gift of the Givers)* “With the cold front dropping \[conditions\] to freezing temperatures in the evening, our worst fear was for any family or any resident of an informal settlement to make a fire in their structure to get warm because of the current situation of the floods occurring in the Western Cape,” Sablay said. “Our worst fear came true this morning when we received a call from community members and the local councillor of the Ramaphosa informal settlement in Phillippi informing us of the fire.” Sablay told *Daily Maverick* that three additional informal structures caught fire during the blaze. **DM** [Media on Daily Maverick: "Electricity prices through the roof"](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-07-14-three-including-pregnant-mother-die-after-fires-ravage-informal-settlements-in-kzn-and-western-cape/)