Fire turns spaza shop into free-for-all!

RESIDENTS from Makhaza in Khayelitsha help themselves to goods from a spaza shop destroyed by fire.

The incident happened early on Sunday, 27 October.

The Siyaquba Cash Store, located along Japhta Masemola Road in Khayelitsha, went up in flames following a shack fire in the area.

After assessing the extensive damage, shop owner Alex Mohammed (39) allowed residents to take whatever remained inside the shop.

People scrambled and shoved each other to grab the partially burnt groceries.

Mohammed said that some goods were destroyed while others were only partially affected by the fire, so he let the residents take everything that was left.

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"Too much, too much damage. Residents can take all the remaining goods because I cannot sell them again. I must start afresh," said Mohammed.

He estimated the stock destroyed by the fire to be worth between R50 000 and R70 000.

Besides groceries, all his fridges and CCTVs were also destroyed. Residents emerged from the shop carrying various items, from mealie meals to baking flour.

Bulelwa Malunga (35) said she managed to get some cold drinks, cooking oil, toilet paper, and other items.

"When firefighters were extinguishing the fire, some of the goods fell on the ground and were not affected by the fire. MyFriend did well by allowing us to take these things rather than throw them away. It feels like an early Christmas from MyFriend," said Bulelwa.

Fire and Rescue spokesman Jermaine Carelse said crews from Lansdowne and Khayelitsha attended the scene and extinguished the fire.