WATCH: 8 year old Nkulumane boy dies in house fire

AN eight-year-old boy who is doing Grade Three at Mgoqo Primary School in Bulawayo’s Nkulumane suburb died on Monday night after a house he was sleeping in caught fire.

The incident occurred at about 11pm when Blessing Muzenda was alone in the room. He lived with his father who had gone out to do some errands, witnesses said.

When a Chronicle news crew visited the house on Tuesday morning a sombre atmosphere engulfed the scene as residents tried to come to terms with what had happened.

The boy’s father was visibly traumatised and had covered himself with a blanket, and could hardly speak to the news crew.

One of the neighbours, Ms Netsai Manyame, said the fire broke out just after 11pm following power restoration after load shedding.

“I was about to sleep when I heard some cracking sounds. Initially I thought maybe there were thieves trying to break in.

“Then I saw a bolt of fire because when power was restored we did not switch on our lights. But when I opened the curtain I saw a big flame and that is when I called my son to come and extinguish the fire while calling other residents to come and put out the fire,” said Ms Manyame.

“After we managed to put out the fire, one of the neighbours said there was a child inside and that’s when we realised that the worst had happened. He was a Grade Three Pupil at Mgoqo Primary School.”

Neighbours suspected that the fire could have been caused by an electrical fault. A caretaker of the, Mrs Mildred Sivenga, who stays within the same suburb said the incident was traumatic.

“When we came here residents were already gathered after extinguishing the fire. I don’t know how the fire started but police were called to the scene and the boy had covered himself with a blanket,” she said.

“We thought he was burnt beyond recognition but when investigations were done it was observed that he had covered his face using a blanket, he was only burnt on his knee, and the rest of the body was not charred.”

Mrs Sivenga said it was a difficult situation for the family as nothing was salvaged from the house.

“His father had gone to the market to offload some goods with his brother. They were living just the two of them. This is really a sad situation,” she added.

Bulawayo chief fire officer Mr Mhlangano Moyo said his team only reported to the scene after being informed by the police.

“Our investigations show that the boy could have been using gas lighting, which could have caused the fire. While he was burnt on the leg, our preliminary investigations suggest that he could have died due to smoke inhalation,” said Mr Moyo.

“What we gathered from the neighbours is that the boy only cried three times but neighbours failed to open the door to rescue him.

“When they tried to open the windows the fire was already out of control but the residents managed to put it out before our teams could even go to the ground.”

He urged guardians never to leave minor children unattended to prevent possible loss of lives.

As the country is in the middle of winter season, authorities have urged the public to be on the alert as most of the fires are recorded during this period.

-@nqotshili