AN unidentified man burnt to death early on Tuesday morning and 15 people were left homeless when shacks in Claremont caught fire, Johannesburg Emergency Services said. Representative Hennie Botha said a man also sustained superficial burns to his back, shoulder and hand and was admitted to the Helen Joseph Hospital. He said residents of the shacks reported hearing a hissing sound, followed by a loud bang and a sudden, large fire just after 2am. The fire spread rapidly, destroying the shacks and all the residents’ possessions. They alleged that they had been threatened with violence earlier. The cause of the fire had not yet been established. The man who died, lived with three others in an empty garage close to the shacks. The city’s disaster management division would be supplying blankets to the people left destitute and would ask churches in the city to assist with providing shelter, food and clothes. – Sapa