NFPA Journal - Spring 2021 - 19
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
BUCKETS VS BLAZES
A fire in a South African shantytown underscores the risk
faced by informal settlements worldwide
The impoverished residents of Cape Town's settlements are accustomed to such events. In July 2019, a
fire in Masiphumelele killed one person and left 1,000
people homeless. In December 2019, seven more
people died in fires that occurred in Masiphumelele
and three other Cape Town settlements. In 2015,
4,000 people were left homeless in yet another fire in
Masiphumelele, and at least five people were killed and
4,000 left homeless in a massive fire at the Khayelitsha
settlement in 2013.
NFPA Journal has reported on the extensive challenges of fire in informal settlements around the world, as
well as projects underway to reduce the risk of fire in
these areas. To read more about those efforts, visit
nfpa.org/shantytowns. -Jesse Roman
GETT Y IMAGES
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe the informal settlements in Cape Town, South Africa, as among
the world's most dangerous places for home fires.
The latest in a long string of calamities occurred
December 17 in the Masiphumelele informal settlement,
located on Cape Town's southern peninsula. It started
in late afternoon when the Cape Town Fire and Rescue
Service was alerted to a plume of black smoke rising from
the settlement. Responders arrived to a fire that " was being fanned by strong winds and spreading at an alarming
rate, " according to a spokesperson for the fire service.
By the time the fire was extinguished, nine hours later,
it had leveled an estimated 1,000 homes, many of them
simple shacks made of wood and corrugated steel.
Remarkably, no deaths or injuries were reported.
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL
Dispatches_Spring 2021 SJS APPROVED AS FINAL.indd 19
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1/29/21 6:34 PM
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NFPA Journal - Spring 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Spring 2021
Contents
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