Fire destroys Rusape complex

Parade Complex in Rusape.
The fire, which started on Wednesday night, rendered hundreds of indigenous operators jobless as the blaze destroyed all their goods.
No one was injured in the fire that started from Exclusive Hair Salon, and spread quickly causing extensive damage to the first floor made of mahogany timber and ceiling.

The cause of the fire was not known but police and fire investigators who attended the scene were expected to disclose their findings in due course.
The Rusape Town Council does not have the requisite fire-fighting equipment and the fire tender that arrived at the scene after an hour and half, had less that 50 litres of water.
The fire tender made six trips to get more water with each trip taking about 30 minutes. Its operators had no protective clothes and lacked skill.

The fire destroyed clothes, motor-vehicle spares, groceries, refrigerators, computer, printers, cellphones accessories, agricultural inputs, salon equipment, and office documents.
The roof of the building collapsed.
Mr Godfrey Mufuranhewe, a cellphone technician at the complex, said they discovered the fire after noticing smoke coming from the salon.

Mr Mufuranhewe alerted the police and town council officials but no urgent assistance was available.
“Council said that their fire tender had no water. When I got back here, the fire was advanced, and we managed to retrieve a few light goods.
“We watched helplessly as our wealth was being incinerated. By the time the fire tender was dispatched, the fire was approaching both ends of the complex.

“The damaged had already been inflicted and the entire roof had curved in.”
Mr Lovemore Musesengwa said Zesa had disconnected power from the salon.
“What is shocking is that there is no electricity in that salon, electricity had been disconnected months back, so how could the fire emanate from there?

“There could be more than what meets the eye, because several wares belonging to flea market traders are kept there, so it could be possible that someone could have broken in and then set the place on fire afterwards.”

The acting Rusape Town secretary Mr Darlington Museka said the incident was unfortunate as it occurred when the available fire tender had no water in its tank.
“When the fire tender was donated to us, it had no tank, and we had just fitted it on the truck, but it had no water in it when the incident occurred.

“The other challenge is that we do not have trained fire-fighting personnel. Those were lay people with minimal fire-fighting skills, and we have to seriously look into it,” said Mr Museka.
The Rusape Residents and Ratepayers Association chairman, Mr Martin Chaburumunda, blamed council for failing to have a serviceable fire tender and personnel against a backdrop of rising fire risks in the town.

“The fire could have been either put out or the damage may have been minimised if they had a fully-fledged fire fighting department.
“We had more than 10 incidents of fire where there was no rescue by council,” he said.