House goes up in smoke

PROPERTY worth thousands of dollars was destroyed last week when a house in Masvingo’s plush Rhodene Suburb was gutted by fire after a suspected electrical fault, police have confirmed. Ms Christine Simbi (56), of Rhus Street, woke up in the wee hours of the morning and found that one of her rented rooms was engulfed in flames, while its occupant was away.

She alerted the police who summoned the fire brigade which arrived when most of the property, including those in her other three rooms, was already in ashes. Masvingo police spokesperson Chief Inspector Charity Mazula said the incident occurred on Wednesday last week at around 3am. She said police were still carrying out investigations to ascertain the cause of the inferno and actual cost of the damaged property. She said no one was injured. “I can confirm there is a house in Rhodene along Rhus Street, which caught fire from an unknown cause and destroyed property worth several thousands of dollars,” said Insp Mazula.

“Investigations are in progress to figure out the real value of the damaged property and the main cause of the fire which affected four rooms of an eight-roomed house.” Sources said the tenant who was not named is alleged to have forgotten to switch off the stove since there was no power due to the incessant load shedding and this could have caused the inferno when electricity was restored around 10pm.

When The Herald news crew visited the place, a visibly shaken Ms Simbi declined to comment.