KADOMA — A raging fire destroyed a shopping mall, Mateketa Complex, in Kadoma on Tuesday night.
BY Own Correspondent
Property worth several thousands of dollars was reduced to ashes in the inferno believed to have started at a fast-food outlet at around 10pm, after all the shops had closed.
Alert security guards manning the premises were the first to notice the fire.
According to the property manager Phillip Muzadzi, eight shops were razed to the ground, while 13 others were slightly damaged.
Muzadzi blamed the Kadoma City Council Fire Brigade for being ill-prepared and reacting slowly to the distress call.
He said the blaze was extinguished hours later by firefighters from Rio Tinto Zimbabwe at Eiffel Flats, some 15km outside the town.
“The extent to which the building was destroyed was due to the unprofessional conduct of the Kadoma City Council fire brigade which came with a fire tender that didn’t have enough water. Besides, they came a while after we had alerted them. Their disaster preparedness leaves a lot to be desired.
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“The inferno was only put out by a squad from RioZim, which I phoned after realising the fire was spreading fast, while council fire personnel watched helplessly,” Muzadzi said.
Efforts to get a comment from the council fire department proved fruitless yesterday.
Muzadzi confirmed thieves took advantage of the mayhem and looted television sets, hot-plate stoves, generators, cellphones, solar panels, inverters and clothing, among other wares.
When NewsDay visited the scene yesterday, several affected shop owners could be seen sifting through the debris hoping to salvage some wares, which could have survived the devastating fire.
