A family home was left severely damaged by a fire that broke out late Saturday night in Bulawayo’s Old Pumula, with investigations suggesting that a carelessly discarded lit material may have sparked the blaze.
According to Mhlangano Moyo, Bulawayo’s Acting Chief Fire Officer, the cause of the fire in the three-bedroom house was a carelessly discarded lit material. He added that 90 percent of the spare bedroom contents and part of the roof above the involved bedroom were destroyed.
“The estimated value of the property is ZiG200,000. The estimated loss of property was ZiG40,000. The estimated value of property saved was ZiG160,000. The fire was discovered by a 15-year-old girl who alerted her parents,” said Moyo.
“The fire was concentrated in a spare bedroom. Bedroom contents, consisting of a wardrobe, bed, and mattresses, were severely damaged by fire. There was a crowd of people gathered outside the house, trying to extinguish the fire. The occupants confirmed that there is no power within the house, and they use small solar lights. The brigade used one hose reel with breathing apparatus stage one to extinguish the fire. They also conducted salvage operations and carried out a fire investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire,” Moyo added.
Sithabiswe Ncube, a mother of two and the owner of the property, said she was heartbroken when she returned home from a church meeting only to find her house burnt to the ground.
“I wasn’t there when the fire broke out. I had gone to a church meeting. When I came back, I found my house burnt to the ground. Fortunately, no one was injured, but all our belongings are gone. We are currently staying in the burnt house as we have no other place to go, and we are kindly asking for assistance in reconstructing the house,” said Ncube.
Her daughter, Gugulethu Ncube, who witnessed the fire break out, said that she woke up in the middle of the night, around 11:00 PM, and noticed the house was burning. She alerted the other three people in the house to evacuate the premises.
“I woke up at around 11:00 PM because there was a lot of smoke in my room, and I then realized that the house was burning. I then woke up the other two people in the house, and we evacuated immediately. Unfortunately, we were not able to retrieve anything at all, as all our belongings have been lost in the fire. The police arrived shortly after midnight, followed by the fire brigade, but by then it was too late,” said Ncube.
Anyone wishing to help the family can contact Sithabisiwe on 0777016079 or Nhanhla Moyo on 0788774394.
