10 injured in Kadoma inferno

AT least 10 people were seriously injured in an inferno that destroyed three buildings in Ingezi, Kadoma, on Monday evening.

The incident exposed the city’s lack of preparedness when such accidents occur.

Kadoma City Council’s fire brigade operates without the necessary equipment, including fire engines.

There was drama at the scene as residents scrambled to loot goods from shops while the fire brigade battled the flames.

The cause of the fire was not immediately established.

The fire brigade reportedly attended the scene without water and had to rush to refill their fire tender while the shops were ablaze.

“The city needs a fire tender, but council is failing to procure one. We fall under the Department of Health and currently we are relying on hiring a water bowser and the process is cumbersome,” a source from the city’s fire department said.

According to a report released by the city’s director of Health Services Dr Daniel Chirundu, authorities acknowledged that council was complementing its water bowsers with one from Rio Tinto.

He also acknowledged the confusion during the fire incident.

“The Chief Fire Officer went to the fire station from his home in Rimuka.

“When he arrived at the fire station the dispatched fire tender had come back to refill with water and a second fire tender Renault with a capacity of 1 800 litres was dispatched while the Volvo was being filled with water,” he said.

“When the Volvo fire tender was full it was driven back to the fire scene by the Chief Fire Officer and, the Rio Tinto water bowser/tender with a capacity of 20 000 litres was mobilised to supplement the water supply.”

Dr Chirundu also reported that rowdy local residents took turns to steal goods from the shops while council was in the process of extinguishing the fire.

“However, due to the unruly crowds at the scene all the goods that were saved were looted.

“The value of the property destroyed, saved or looted is not known,” he said.