Ekurhuleni Fire Claims Five Lives, Teenager Survives As 5-Room Shack Is Engulfed in Flames
- A total of five family members were killed in a shack fire at the Steve Biko informal settlement
- Investigations are underway into the blaze that broke out in Etwatwa in the City of Ekurhuleni
- A teenage family member was the sole survivor of the blaze, which engulfed a five-roomed shack
Source: Twitter
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
GAUTENG - A devastating shack fire has claimed the lives of five members of one family at the Steve Biko informal settlement in Etwatwa.
The fatal fire broke out in the informal settlement in Ekurhuleni just before midnight on Sunday, 9 November 2025. One family member, a teenager, survived the blaze.
Five-bedroom shack engulfed by flames
Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Services Spokesperson, William Ntladi, told the media that the cause of the blaze was currently being investigated. He told Eyewitness News that when emergency service officials arrived at the scene, they found that a five-bedroom shack was engulfed by flames.
"The primary responding team found a five-roomed shack (three bedrooms, kitchen, and dining room) engulfed by flames with entrapment on their arrival."
Ntladi also noted that a mother, father, and three children were killed in the fire, while a teenager, who was asleep in another room outside the shack, survived the blaze.
Source: Twitter
Neighbour recalls horrifying screams of victims
A neighbour of the family that passed away has since spoken about the incident, recalling the mother’s last words. Maureen Baloyi told SowetanLIVE that she heard the mother’s desperate screams during the fire.
“I heard their mother shouting, ‘Thuli, Thuli,’ and then she went silent,” Baloyi recalled.
Baloyi added that she then heard one of the children shouting for the mother in response, before there was noise as if they were trying to get out. It then went silent.
She also explained how quickly the shack went up in flames, recalling that she saw thick smoke rising from the home and rushed to assist, shouting for help from community members as she did.
Baloyi added that residents tried to fight the flames using buckets of water and anything else they could find, but the blaze spread rapidly, resulting in the five family members being trapped and passing away.
You can watch Baloyi's interview below.
Other shack fires in South Africa
Briefly News reported that there have been other shack fires across the country in 2025, some of which led to fatalities, and others that just caused destruction.
- The family of four children who were killed in a shack fire in Vosloorus in July 2025 spoke out about the tragedy.
- In September 2025, three siblings aged between seven and 15 lost their lives in an informal settlement fire in Tembisa.
- Hundreds of residents in informal settlements in the Western Cape were left homeless as shack fires gutted homes in October 2025.
Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.
Source: Briefly News
