Baby dies in fire after power surge

after a fire,  gutted the room he was sleeping in at the family house in Sauerstown suburb in Bulawayo.

The fire was allegedly caused by an electrical power surge after Zesa restored power following a load shedding on Wednesday morning.
The baby, Nyasha Mupomhori, sustained burns all over the body and was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital where he later died.
The deceased’s father, Mr Sam Mupomhori, said he was failing to come to terms with what befell his son.

“Nyasha was sleeping in our bedroom when the room caught fire at about 8am on Wednesday. His mother was in the kitchen and after power was restored, she started cooking,” said Mr Mupomhori.
He said his wife did not check on the baby.

“One of the tenants who was doing her laundry near the bedroom was the first to notice some smoke coming out of the room. She then alerted my wife who ran to the room calling for help and impulsively went in to rescue our son,” said Mr Mupomhori.
He said he also rushed home when he was informed about the incident at work and found his child and wife burnt.

“My wife managed to make her way into the room to try and rescue our baby but it was already too late as the whole room was engulfed in flames. She also sustained burns in the process,” said Mr Mupomhori.
He said an ambulance was called and it rushed the two to Mpilo Central Hospital where Nyasha was put under intensive care.

“Unfortunately he succumbed to the burns and died this morning at around 8am. It is still a nightmare to me,” he said.
When Chronicle visited the home on Thursday afternoon as mourners who had gathered at the house were failing to come to terms with what happened.

A neighbour, who identified herself as MaNcube said it was painful and saddening for such a young life to be taken in such a manner.
“I wish Zesa would do something to alert people that power is being restored. It is one thing to lose gadgets due to an electrical fault but when we lose lives, it becomes a serious cause for concern,” said MaNcube.

The chief fire officer for Bulawayo, Mr Richard Peterson, urged members of the public to switch off electrical appliances soon after a power cut to avoid fire outbreaks.