Toddler dies as Kokosi fire meets dry taps

The smell of smoke still hangs in the air in Kokosi outside Fochville where a one year and six month old girl died in a shack fire that residents say could not be stopped because there was no water in the community.

By the time neighbours reached the burning structure there was nothing anyone could do except watch helplessly as the flames engulfed the tiny shack with the child trapped inside.

Residents described scenes of panic as neighbours ran with empty buckets searching for water that was not there. Kokosi has been without a steady water supply for weeks and families rely on water tankers which they say do not come often enough. On the morning of the fire families woke up and again found their taps dry.

A neighbour who witnessed the incident said the fire spread too fast. She said residents shouted and scrambled for anything that could carry water but the containers remained dry. She said people screamed as they realised the toddler was still inside the structure. People later fainted and others remained in shock as flames burned the shack to the ground.

Community leader Buti Mthembu said the tragedy has left the community shattered. “This little child should never have died like this,” he said. “If there was water in Kokosi people would have at least tried to fight the fire but they had nothing in their hands. We watched life disappear because there is simply no water.”

Mthembu who is part of the Greater Fochville Water Crisis Committee said residents have warned for months that emergencies would become deadly. “We have been raising this issue every day,” he said. “We told the authorities that one day a disaster would happen and now a child is gone. Our people are living without the most basic resource.”

Kokosi forms part of the Merafong City Local Municipality which has faced repeated water interruptions. Rand Water has in recent months reported rising demand in Gauteng and ongoing strain on supply systems.

Fire incidents remain a growing concern across Gauteng informal settlements. According to data released by the Gauteng provincial government earlier this year the province recorded more than 1500 shack fires in the past twelve months. The statistics showed that densely populated informal communities are most at risk because of the close proximity of structures and limited access to emergency water sources. The same report recorded more than 100 fire related deaths across the province over the same period with children and elderly people the most vulnerable.

Mthembu said the Kokosi community is demanding urgent intervention. “We cannot continue like this,” he said. “We want answers and we want a permanent solution. This child must be the last to die because there is no water.”

Residents gathered outside the burnt structure on Wednesday night standing in silence around the blackened debris. Merafong City Local Municipality had not commented at the time of publication.