Fire engineer makes inroads

Lumbidzani Dima, Chronicle Reporter
FOR the love of fire engineering, a 49-year-old man from Bulawayo’s Cowdray Park suburb has registered a company defying the hard times his chosen industry is going through.

Mr Clever Madzivadondo believes that he will make it and uplift fire engineering to what it used to be back in the day.

Fire engineering is the application of scientific and engineering principles, and expert judgment to protect people, property and the environment from the destructive effects of fire.

Mr Madzivadondo’s company — Clanamatic Fire Extinguishers — is mainly focusing on refilling, servicing and installing fire extinguishers.

He said when he was growing up, he did not even know what fire engineering was all about.

The twists and turns of life saw him getting a job in that industry and he immediately fell in love and found passion in it.

“I passed my Ordinary Level in 1992.

However, the finances at home could not allow me to continue with schooling, so I had to start hustling as a man,” he said.

Mr Madzivadondo said he worked in a number of companies in different sectors in Harare until he relocated to Bulawayo and joined a fire engineering company.

“In Harare, I started off at some construction company.

I moved from one company to the other.

I then moved to Bulawayo in 1997 and I got employed at Angus Fire Engineering (AFA), a glorious company during those days.

It mostly dealt with fire extinguishers,” he said.

He said when he joined, he was just an assistant to the technician who was doing the actual job.

During that time, he learnt skills which led to his interest in the industry.

He also enrolled to do some fire engineering training with the Fire Brigade.

Mr Madzivadondo said in 2008, with two other friends, they formed a company but split in 2013 due to disputes.
Last year, he formed his own company,

Mr Madzivadondo said he makes an average of US$30 a day, but a week does not go by without having a very good day whereby they write a US$200 invoice.

“It all depends on the number of fire extinguishers I get per day and how big the company is.

I believe that if we get more resources this company will grow bigger than imaginable.

“The challenge we face in this industry is that we get resources from outside the country, all resources used to make fire extinguishers are no longer manufactured in Zimbabwe,” he said.

“This year we have started going all out, we do services, fire surveys, camera systems, and fire alarm systems as well.

I have so far secured a sizeable number of clients including some garages and some big companies.”

Mr Madzivadondo said another challenge is that they only charge in foreign currency considering the fact that they import all their resources.

He said competition is not that stiff because there are a few big companies that are still doing well.

He said he feels like the experience he possesses is enough to compete with the big fish.