Amid the billowing smoke and the haunting scent of charred debris, a stark reality grips the Dunoon informal settlement – fires, relentless in their fury, continue to ravage homes, lives, and dreams.
Despite the resilience of those living in these conditions the fires leave devastation in their wake, claiming lives, displacing families and shattering any sense of stability, residents say. As the flames continue to ravage throughout the years in Dunoon residents are raising their voices in a unified demand for action.
READ: A ‘holiday’ heartbreak: fire destroys over 185 structures at an informal settlement in Cape Town
Driven by a sense of urgency and frustration, Angelique Denise Vivier, a fire victim staying in Dunoon Epuleni (at the back of Killarney Gardens gate 3), is calling on local authorities to address the root causes of these blazes. She said she had been living with her blind partner in Dunoon Epuleni for six years with no issues, until a fire last year claimed all their belongings and her fur-child, Meowey, which ran away.
“On 20 December 2023, we got ready to go shopping in Table View, I kissed my cat goodbye, told him I’ll see him later. We got to Home of Hope and stayed there for 10 minutes while walking to my mother’s house in Circle Road. Then I saw this thick black smoke coming from Dunoon side.”
Lost all in blaze
Rushing back in panic to see if the fire was near her home, she was too late. “Our place burnt to the ground and we lost everything. I’m not sure if my cat got out. This fire was so big and quick it took an hour to burn 1 000 people’s places down.” Vivier says before the fire last December, in November, they had three fires in one week.
“We are not safe in informal settlements. We need proper fire hoses in the informal settlement and adequate water supply, not nothing or drip-drip.”
TygerBurger reported in April this year of a fire raging through Dunoon over the Easter weekend (“Bleak Easter for Dunoon fire victims”, 3 April), leaving 80 families without homes.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse says their service is measured according to the South African National Standards (SANS 10900), which requires that at least 70% of incidents have to have a response time of 14 minutes or less.
“Another challenge is the extent of certain fires, particularly when viewed against the backdrop of an increase in severe weather episodes,” Carelse says.
Vivier is also pleading with the community in the Killarney Gardens area to be on the lookout for her cat, Meowey.
He’s a silver tabby cat with white paws and a white blaze on his forehead.
“He is between one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half years old. Please, it costs nothing to be on the lookout.”
Vivier has since started an online petition (www.change.org/tiktokangelscpt) urging other residents to join the cause.
- For more information contact her on 066 389 2036.
