Zimbabwe: Fire broke out in Zimbabwe at a shop in Chinhoyi’s central business district on Monday, April 08, 2024. The fire caused much damage to the place and ruined it to ashes.
Reportedly, the fire has destroyed the wares that included electrical gadgets and furniture. The stall and shop owners left the place counting their losses.
As per the sources, the electrical fault was suspected that have caused the fire which destroyed the appliances such as television sets, radios and fans among other items.
The Chinhoyi Municipality fire brigade worked with the members of the community and managed to douse the fire but the wares were in the condition and could not be salvaged.
An eye witness, anonymous man has reported to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) that they have noticed some smoke coming out of the closed shop before the fire broke the window panes.
The man added, “We had two fire tenders coming out through but there was a technical glitch, which delayed the process to put out the fire. The community, included touts that had to chip in.”
The unidentified owner told the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), which is known for its erratic power supply that, electrical fault might be the reason of the fire.
Member of the Parliament for Chinhoyi – Leslie Mhangwa visited the site and identified the deficiencies in the emergency services. He said, “I have to confirm the reason yet, but those who came earlier than me exclaimed that there was a delay as the team that arrived after one hour, struggled to get the operation of the new fire tenders correct.”
Mhangwa an engineer by profession himself has added further that it may be worthwhile to have retraining the firefighters. A further delay was attributed to the hydrant being in Orange Grove. We need to resuscitate hydrants nearby.
Chinhoyi Parliament member, reiterated the need for buildings to be fire-compliant and said that the damage was severe and was rendering everything in the shop unsalvageable. Fortunately, the adjacent shops remained unharmed due to the fire-resistant wall that separates them.
He mentioned that “Given the town’s age, it’s likely that electrical faults contribute to fires, as responsible landlords, we must prioritise rewiring the buildings every 20 to 30 years.
Over the time, building the insulation deteriorates by posing a significant fire risk. It ensured that the electrical compliance is crucial for building safety.
Considering the investment in fire detection and suppression systems for buildings, most structures in Chinhoyi lack proper fire safety measures.