Unattended pot sparks fire, destroying 17 Germiston shacks

A pot left unattended on a stove is suspected to have caused a fire that destroyed 17 shacks at the Makausi informal settlement in Germiston on Thursday.

Firefighters contained the blaze and confirmed there were no casualties in the incident.

Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Services' William Ntladi urged residents not to leave flammable appliances unattended.

He said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

"The ever-alert firefighters saw a dense carbon smoke coming from the heart of the settlement and immediately responded for intervention. Seeing the speed at which the fire was spreading upon their arrival, more resources were activated by surrounding fire stations," said Ntladi.