2 hours ago
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One person died and more than 2,000 were displaced by a blaze that destroyed about 814 shacks on Saturday in an informal settlement in Woodlake Street in Pretorius Park, Tshwane.
Tshwane Emergency Services (EMS) said about 2,600 people were affected by the fire, the cause of which is yet to be determined.
“One male patient was treated on-site and transported to Steve Biko Academic Hospital for critical burn injuries. Another female patient with a critical medical condition was also treated on-site and transported to Mamelodi Hospital. A third patient sadly suffered fatal burn injuries,” EMS spokesperson Lindsay Zwelithini Mnguni said.
Mnguni said the fire was reported to the city's emergency call centre at 4.07am.
“The centre immediately dispatched multiple firefighting resources from the Silverton, Hazelwood, Central, Mamelodi, Centurion and Heuweloord fire stations to the scene. These included two fire trucks, an industrial pumper, a mobile command unit, two rapid intervention units, a water carrier and a district commander’s unit,” he said.
