Online Reporter
Muchaneta Chimuka
Herald Reporter
TWO offices on the 9th floor of Regal House along George Silundika Avenue, between First Street and Sam Nujoma Street in Harare’s central business district, went up in smoke this morning, resulting in the loss of property worth thousands of dollars.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but no one was hurt.
The fire, which started around 7am, was quickly contained due to the rapid response of the Harare Fire Brigade.
It attracted scores of people who were on their way to work.
Mr Tauzeni Jarachara, who works in the building, said he arrived around 7am and had just started working when the fire broke out.
“I was busy working in my office on the 7th floor when I was alerted about the fire and rushed downstairs using the stairs,” he said.
“I then noticed that the fire was on the 9th floor. I went back up to collect the two laptops I had left in my office because they have very important information.
“We are happy that the fire has been extinguished and that there were neither fatalities nor injuries, but the only problem now is that we will not be able to work today since the owner of the building announced that police and the forensic team will be conducting investigations.”
Harare Fire Brigade Division Officer Mr Tendai Mberikunashe commended the people who called them to come and put out the fire. He said the cause of the fire is yet unknown.
“We received a call that there was a fire along George Silundika Avenue and within five minutes we had arrived,” he said.
“We then initially deployed the First Aid Water, which is the water we usually carry in our tanks, before we resorted to using water from hydrants.
“As you have seen today, we had the water in our tanks, but sometimes it is not enough to contain the fire; hence we need backup from hydrants.
“We continue to urge members of the public to reach out to us on +263242783890 – 4 in case of a fire. Our numbers are manned 24/7.”
Hundreds of people who work in the building could be seen milling around the building long after the fire had been put out, after they were denied entry by security personnel guarding the building.
“We just want to get inside and collect our gadgets and go home, but we are being refused entry. We now fear for the safety of our belongings,” said one of the female workers who refused to be named.
The owner of the building could not be reached at the time of writing.
