Sounding the alarm on shack fire losses
25 Jan 2021 A tech solution to fires in informal settlements comes with insurance that pays out the victims of these blazes
More than 1 100 homes were destroyed in the fire that raged through Masiphumelele informal settlement near Fish Hoek in Cape Town last month. The devastating blaze displaced 5 000 people. The fire was only one of the 177 to hit informal settlements in the city last year.
But the Cape Town blazes are only an indication of a much larger problem. According to the most recent countrywide statistics from the Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa (FPASA), there were 5 283 shack fires during the 2016-17 municipal reporting year. Households lost almost R180-million as a result of these fires.
16-20 Kickass Random Facts
16. The world’s first seat belt law was put into place in 1970 in Victoria, Australia, and that Volvo shared the patent for the three-point seat belt for free. – Source
17. In 1963, a VW Beetle donated by the manufacturer became the first car in the Antarctic. It was so good for Antarctic use, being able to withstand temperatures below -50°C and winds above 150 km/h, that it was nicknamed “Red Terror” by the users. – Source
18. Stalin’s wife, Nadezhda, often argued with him, partly due to her desire to pursue a career, when he wanted her to have a domestic role. She later shot herself in the heart. Her death was announced as appendicitis, and her children were not told the truth of her death until years later. – Source
Coole Swan will be listed in the magazine’s Top 100 Spirits Brands in the world for 2020.
The rating is published by US-based Wine Enthusiast Magazine which is the world’s largest periodical for wine and spirits and each year reviews and rates wines and other drinks from around the world.
“This is an amazing result for any brand but for an independently-owned and family-run business it is unbelievable – especially as it is all done by blind taste testing. We were up against every major spirits corporation and brand so for Coole Swan to achieve this is so significant,” CEO Mary Sadlier told