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Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
FOUR families in Westlea suburb of Mutare were left counting huge losses after a house they were staying in was razed by fire early this week.
When The Manica Post arrived at the scene, the Mutare Fire Brigade was doing all it could to salvage what was left of the house by dousing the fire from the roofing trusses.
Neighbours who had helped put out the fire before the arrival of the Fire Brigade could be seen watching from a safe distance.
The main bedroom, an en suite, three other bedrooms and two toilets were all reduced to shells.
Nothing from these rooms was salvaged.
In an interview, the house owner, Ms Yeukai Maredzo, said together with her three tenants, they lost everything in the blaze.
She said the fire started in a room that is rented by two tenants who had left for work.
“I only managed to save my son and phone. I was confused and did not know what to do. I called for help when I saw smoke coming out of one of the rooms. I suspect that the two tenants left their water heater element on and might have caused the fire.
“I got up around 8am and saw smoke coming out of the two’s room. I realised that there was a fire and it was spreading through the ceiling to other rooms.
“I shouted for help from neighbours. We lost property worth thousands of dollars and a lot of cash that was in the house. I am yet to come to terms with what happened. All the families that stay here do not have a roof over their heads, food to eat and clothes to put on in this cold weather,” she said.
Ms Maredzo bemoaned the Fire Brigade’s late response to the emergency as they arrived hours after receiving the distress call.
“We called the Fire Brigade the moment we discovered the fire, but they told us that they were out of town for a workshop. They went on to tell us that even if they were in town, they did not have the resources to come and help us as their fire tender had developed a mechanical fault.
“They said they did not have a truck. Their station is only a 10-minute’s drive from us and had they come on time, we could have salvaged something from the house. Six rooms were gutted by the fire which was spreading through the ceiling.
“We were surprised to see the Fire Brigade arriving after we had finished putting out the fire with the assistance of our neighbours. They just did the final touches and checked if there was no fire left inside,” she said.
In an interview, the two tenants from the room where the fire started appealed for help to renovate their landlord’s house.
An apologetic Mr Mike Choto said he is grateful that no one was injured.
“The only electric appliance that we used in our room was a water heater element and I suspect that I left it on. It was so close to the bed and gas tank.
“I suspect that the bed caught fire and the gas tank later exploded. We are very sorry for what happened and are appealing for help so that we can renovate our landlord’s house and reimburse the other tenants what they lost in the inferno,” he said.
His roommate who only identified himself as Munashe, said had the Fire Brigade responded swiftly, most of the burnt rooms could have been saved.
“We were surprised to see them arriving late because we were not expecting them to come as they had told us that their cars were broken down,” he said.
All the families lost everything except the clothes they were wearing.
Acting Mutare Town Clerk, Mr Blessing Chafesuka explained the delay in responding to the fire incident, saying the fire tender that was supposed to attend the scene had a mechanical problem and could not start on time.
“The Fire Brigade did not respond late, rather, the only functioning fire truck that the city is currently running on malfunctioned that morning. There were also problems with the pump. When the truck was repaired, our team rushed to attend the fire incident,” he said.
Mr Chafesuka also said the city is facing a shortage of fire trucks as only one of the three trucks is operational.
The other two trucks which were donated by well-wishers in the United Kingdom need to repairs, although spares are not readily available locally.
“The challenge that we are facing is that the spares can only be imported from the UK, and that takes time, so we have two grounded trucks. The other one is being affected by breakdowns every now and then,” said Mr Chafesuka.
He assured the public that the council is expecting to receive two more trucks from the UK in November as they have already been paid for.
Those willing to help Ms Maredzo can contact her on 0785554851.
Online Reporter