The fire that has ravaged the South Peninsula since Sunday morning has been the worst since 2005. Thousands of hectares of Cape fynbos have been lost (small comfort that fire is an important part of the fynbos life cycle) and many suburbs on the lower reaches have been threatened. As of Wednesday morning, 13 homes and the Tintswalo Atlantic Hotel had been affected by the blaze. How can you help?
Firstly, emergency services have appealed to the general public to please stay away. Spectators block the roads and hamper efforts to get vehicles to and from key points. The emergency personnel do appreciate support from the public though. Any non-perishable food and drinks, as well as medical supplies can be taken to Fish Hoek or Lakeside fire stations and various other drop off points. Uber has also graciously been running #UberAssist, where they will collect and deliver your donations for free.
If you would like to volunteer for the Volunteer Wildfire Service, go tohttp://www.vws.org.za/
Keep an eye on the Facebook page “Help support the Fire Fighters and victims”where you’ll find regular updates with specific donation requests.
The Cape Town fire has led many home owners to consider their own situations and their preparedness for a disaster such as this. Though you may not think you'll ever fall victim to a house fire, it's better to be prepared and know what to do to avoid panicking if it happens to you. Here are a few basic home fire preparedness tips:
- In case of a mountain fire like this, evacuate your house as soon as emergency personnel ask you to.
- Do not try and save your possessions; have a small bag of sentimental belongings ready in advance, and leave everything else behind. (That’s why you have insurance.)
- If you have a smoke alarm, react as soon as you hear it go off, and leave.
- In case of a fire, have a plan. Make sure you have more than one escape route should your route become blocked.
- If you see smoke under a door, do not go out that door. It goes without saying that smoke is toxic and where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
- Protect yourself from smoke inhalation. Get low to the floor and crouch or crawl on your hands and knees to evade the smoke.
- Stop, drop, and roll if your clothes catch fire.
Always remember you and your family come first, evacuate and be safe and let your insurance company worry about your house and contents.