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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
THE owners of five vehicles that were reduced to shells after a fire broke out at a vacant building in Bulawayo on Wednesday may not be compensated as they had parked their cars in an undesignated area.

The fire is suspected to have been caused by homeless people who were sheltering in the building.

A BMW, Mercedes Benz, two Honda Fits and a Toyota Picnic were burnt to shells in the inferno.

In separate interviews, three of the five people whose vehicles were burnt to shells said their vehicles were not fully insured.

An insurance expert said even if they had full cover, it was highly unlikely that insurance companies would compensate them for damages on their vehicles as they had parked illegally.

The Fire Brigade is yet to locate the owner of the building.

Mr Mike Mandaza, whose Toyota Picnic was burnt in the inferno 20 minutes after he had parked his car, said he had parked his vehicle outside the building to evade Bulawayo City Council’s parking bay tickets while he entered a supermarket.

“I had entered TM Pick and Pay to buy lunch and when I came out about 20 minutes later there was a thick smoke in the sky. But I didn’t think my car had caught fire until I heard someone saying vehicles that are parked over there have caught fire. I rushed there to find it in flames, it could not be salvaged,” he said.

Mr Mandaza said his car was not on full insurance cover and chances of being compensated for the loss were minimal.

“I’m using a third party insurance cover meaning the guilty party will have to compensate me if ever there is any compensation. The owner of the building is supposed to cover me. But I don’t know if the owner will do so. At law he is the one who is expected to cover my car,” said Mr Mandaza.

He, however, acknowledged that he had illegally parked to avoid paying parking tickets.

Another motorist, Mr Emmanuel Chiromire, whose BMW was also burnt down, said he was waiting for his third party insurance company to determine whether they were going to compensate him.

Mr Elliot Dube, whose Honda Fit was burnt in the fire, said he was also using a third party insurance which reduces his chances of being compensated.

Mr Dube said members of the public could have pushed to safety some of the vehicles instead of concentrating on taking pictures of the unfolding scene with their phones.

“From the pictures circulating on social media, the first people on the scene only took pictures instead of saving property under threat. The first pictures showing smoke coming from the building also show that the cars were still intact. They could have pushed them away to safety,” said Mr Dube.

Insurance expert Mr Morris Mpala said insurance companies do not pay for damages caused if their investigations conclude that the motorist was negligent.

“If they had parked at a place where they were not supposed to, the insurance will not pay for that. There are certain rules and regulations that the insurance companies follow. What they (insurance companies) will simply do is conduct their investigations. If they discover that the area is not a parking area they will not honour their part of the agreement. They (motorists) will end up getting nothing,” said Mr Mpala. — @nqotshili.