Rising up from the ashes

Update

SEDGEFIELD NEWS - Over the past week, the people of Sedgefield have banded together to support victims of a fire that devastated the Beverley Hills area of Smutsville on Wednesday 30 August. The fire destroyed 40 homes leaving a total of 87 people homeless.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, but it is known that it started in one house and quickly spread to those around it.

The alarm was sounded and firefighting services were alerted to the blaze. "Our firefighters, including a number of off-duty officers, were at the scene within minutes of receiving the alert at around 14:45.

"The Garden Route District and George municipalities also came to our aid with the provision of staff and three additional water tankers," said the Knysna Municipality communications team.

Knysna Fire & Rescue crews were not only dispatched from the Sedgefield base, but the Knysna station too.

The concerted firefighting efforts bore fruit and by late afternoon the fire had been brought under control, but the hardest work was yet to begin. A total of 38 informal structures and two formal houses were razed in the fire, meaning there were now 87 people who needed to find a roof over their heads.

Relief efforts and aid began immediately, with Sedgefield residents answering the calls for help seemingly before they were even made.

Gift of the Givers lent a hand in the firefighting efforts.

Initial relief efforts

Those who were left without a home were temporarily moved to the community hall before other Smutsville families opened their doors and hearts to house them for the time being. Aid also came from Gift of the Givers, that assisted in fighting the fires and also provided relief afterwards.

Ward 1 Councillor Levael Davis also played a big role in the aftermath of the fires, helping to coordinate various relief efforts.

He explained that work has already begun on rebuilding many of the structures that were burnt, and by Tuesday afternoon 12 houses had been rebuilt. "We've also submitted all documentation to the national Department of Human Settlements' disaster division in the hope they can supply us with additional materials," Davis said.

The fire started small, but quickly spread to surrounding houses.

Further aid

Another important matter Davis touched on was that they need to replace lost identification documents for many of the residents, and that they have applied at the Department of Home Affairs to have the cost for these waivered. Failing this, they will need to raise funds to cover the costs.

"Sedgefield Lions has offered to cover the transport costs when the residents need to go to Home Affairs, and for that we are grateful," said Davis, who expressed further gratitude for what has been done thus far.

"We've got such a great community. I owe a huge thank you to our wonderful community for their kind donations. This really shows the importance of work between different communities, and how Sedgefield always comes together in the face of adversity and trauma."

The area was barren after the fire gutted 40 houses.

Communal gratitude

Smutsville community leaders were also grateful for what had been done in the aftermath. "The community of Sedgefield was all hands on deck during the fire, and jumped into action quickly to douse the flames and ensure it didn't spread further," said a group of leaders in a joint statement to KPH on Tuesday 5 September.

"On behalf of the community we would just like to issue a huge thank you to all the individuals, NGOs, NPOs, Gift of the Givers, the councillor and the Church of the Resurrection Anglican Church for all of their help and support of the fire victims."

Members of the community throwing sand on the burning rubble to douse the flames.