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Patient Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter
A house in Bulawayo’s Parklands suburb was on Wednesday gutted by fire that destroyed property worth about $45,000.
The inferno started at around 12PM and when The Chronicle news crew visited the property along St Giles road, the owner of the house declined to comment saying he was still in shock.
Bulawayo Chief Fire officer, Richard Peterson, said the fire was caused by an electric iron that was placed over an ironing board and its user forgot to switch it off.
“We received a call at 12:30PM. We arrived at 12:35PM and managed to stop the fire but property was already burnt,” said Peterson.
He said the overall estimated value of the property was $70,000 and the estimated loss was $45,000.
Peterson said the family delayed contacting the Fire Brigade since they did not have contact details for the department. He said their neighbour finally reported the fire incident and fire fighters were dispatched to the house.
“We arrived there when the house was in flames. No one was injured,” said Peterson.
Witnesses said they saw flames engulfing the house and the family using tree branches in an attempt to stop the fire.
“They cried for help and we called the fire brigade as the flames were all over the house. There were three people inside the house and they managed to escape,” said a witness who declined to be named.
Last week two houses were gutted by fire in Bellevue and Emakhandeni suburbs. Five people were hospitalised after they sustained some injuries.
Online Reporter