Chronicle Editor
Justice Ndlovu and Laurel Murangaridzirayi, Chronicle Writers
TWO firefighters from Bulawayo City Council (BCC)’s Fire and Ambulances Services sustained severe burns while their fire tender was reduced to ashes as they battled to put out a veld fire at a plot in Burnside suburb.
The two firefighters were taken to hospital and one of them has since been discharged.
According to witnesses, the fire broke out yesterday shortly after 9AM and firefighters arrived at the scene three hours later.
Acting Bulawayo chief fire officer Mr Linos Phiri confirmed the incident saying two of their officers escaped with burns. “Two of our fire officers were burnt by the fire trying to save a property after the fire suddenly changed direction due to the wind. We are glad they managed to escape as the fire was uncontrollable and stretched for a kilometre,” he said.
Mr Phiri said he deployed four fire tenders and one of them was reduced to ashes which he said was a huge set back to the Fire Brigade.
“We are also appealing to people to cut or slash tall grass because it is difficult to deal with fire when the grass is tall,” he said.
Mr Phiri said fire guards must be created around properties to prevent fires. “One of our officers has been discharged and the one still admitted is in a stable condition,” he said.
A local resident who witnessed the incident Mr Nkosilathi Nyathi said the fire started on the top of a mountain.
“The fire tender got burnt while the driver had parked it by the roadside. He couldn’t escape from the raging fire, which destroyed the truck. His colleagues came to his rescue after putting out the fire,” he said.
Another resident Mr Kwanele Petros said he was relaxing at home when the fire started.
He said a number of residents tried to put out the fire without success.
“I only noticed the smoke while sitting at my home and when I rushed out, I found a lot of people trying to put out the fire. We do not know where it started,” said Mr Petros.
A worker at the plot, Mr Elias Nyathi, said the fire destroyed the grass, which they used to feed their employer’s horses
“We are now worried about our horses as they depended on this grass as you can see for yourself that nothing is left after the inferno. We had reserved this grass so that it could last until the next rain season,” he said.
Last year in September, a BCC firefighter succumbed to burns he suffered while fighting a fire near the the National University of Science and Technology (Nust).
Fanyana Dick Shuluma (55) who was among the firefighters battling to put out a veld fire, succumbed to the burns two days later while admitted to Mater Dei Hospital.
In January, over 700 jobs were lost while the lives of several small-scale formal traders operating at Mpopoma Outspan factory in Bulawayo were affected after their factory shells were gutted by fire with property worth millions of dollars going up in flames.
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