Craig Els, shift manager at the Noordhoek Command Centre, set up by local residents to co-ordinate fire-fighting efforts, said some firemen and volunteers had not slept for three days.
"But none of us wants to leave. There is such a fantastic spirit among us despite the exhaustion," he said.
"The community response has been phenomenal and this is why only one house was destroyed and only a few others damaged."
One of the oldest dwellings , a 150-year-old house bought two weeks ago by Wynberg Boys' High headmaster Keith Richardson, went up in flames.
Els said that because the community was out in force they had been able to stop a few opportunistic criminals in their tracks.
"About 300 residents of the village had to be evacuated to the nearby sports fields. They left their doors and windows wide open.
"We caught a few metal thieves and potential looters.
"Word went around quickly that there will be no easy pickings in Noordhoek," he said.
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