15-Year-Old Heinz Park Girl Dies As Fire Destroys Family Home

A family in Heinz Park has been left devastated after a fire destroyed their home and claimed the life of a 15-year-old girl in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The victim, Rania Moses, died when flames tore through the family’s wendy house in Angelier Street shortly before 2am.

According to her aunt, Shamiela Bassier, the family of nine had been living in the small structure while trying to make ends meet.

Bassier explained that most of the family had spent the night across the road because it was the fasting month of Ramadan and they had gathered for a boeka meal.

“My sister, who is Rania’s grandmother, slept across the road at her daughter’s place with the three small children because it is the month of Ramadan,” she said.

“They had a mass boeka, so Rania and her mother were the only people left in the house.”

Mother returned to find home engulfed in flames

Bassier said Rania’s mother had briefly stepped away from the house to take some items around the corner.

When she returned about an hour later, the structure was already engulfed in flames.

“When she came back about an hour later, she walked into the flames,” Bassier said.

By the time relatives and neighbours arrived, the fire had already spread too rapidly for anyone to intervene.

“When the family got to the house, the fire was already too high for them to do anything.”

Heinz Park Family forced to rebuild after tragic loss

After firefighters extinguished the blaze, relatives made the heartbreaking discovery of the teenager’s remains.

“We still found some of her remains, which were parts of her skull, and had to get hold of the police again because the forensics told us that there are still parts missing of the body,” Bassier said.

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“She was one hundred percent burnt, almost ash.”

With their home destroyed, the family is now staying with Bassier in Lentegeur while they try to raise funds for the girl’s janazah and DNA testing, which costs about R1,800.

Bassier described Rania as a kind and well-mannered teenager who attended a Muslim school.

“She was such a sweet young girl. She did not smoke or touch alcohol. She was a beautiful child, but she dealt with a lot,” she said.

Police investigate cause of deadly blaze

Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg confirmed that an inquest docket has been opened.

“Samora Machel police registered an inquest for investigation following an incident on Saturday, 7 March 2026, at about 2.15am, in Angelier Street, Heinz Park, where a fire broke out at a premises claiming the life of a 15-year-old girl,” Twigg said.

“The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation, and the cause of the fire is yet to be determined.”

City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse confirmed that the blaze destroyed four structures, leaving 19 people homeless.