Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo,
BULAWAYO City firefighters rescued a security guard from a burning building that houses Auto Quip spares shop this morning while accessories and spares worth thousands of dollars were completely destroyed.
The building is located between 4th and 5th Avenues along Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo.
When the fire broke out, the security guard Mr Delight Burura was asleep inside the locked building and only woke up with the whole place engulfed in smoke and flames.
“I couldn’t see anything and was choking from the smoke. I then started screaming which I think was heard by the fire tenders who managed to break open the down sliding door from the back,” said Burura who however refused to be ferried to the hospital, telling the fire brigade crew that he was okay.
While the Fire Brigade, which deployed seven fire tenders including two which Government purchased from Belarus, received a distress call from a resident at an adjacent flat, Chief Fire Officer Mr Nhlanganiso Moyo believes the fire may have started three to four hours earlier.
According to Mr Moyo, the fire started from the ground floor of the two-storey building before spreading to the first floor.
“We received a call at around 0430hrs and we immediately attended to the scene but unfortunately the fire had already spread to the first floor so we had to use canon fire from the two new fire engines,” said Mr Moyo.
He said they managed to extinguish the fire after an almost two-hour battle.
“We are still carrying out the investigations on the exact cause of the fire but preliminary findings point to an electric gadget which was left on. We are also yet to ascertain the cost of this damage,” said Mr Moyo.
A devastated Auto Quip owner, Mr Samuel Nyamapfeka said he was yet to quantify the cost of the destroyed goods.
“The building was recently renovated and in terms of the cost of damage and insurance issues, I am yet to work on the logistics. I have five employees,” he said.
Online Reporter