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Sifundiso Ndlovu/Plaxcedes Hove Chronicle Reporter
THE BULAWAYO fire brigade last week battled for three days to put out a fire at a ten bed-roomed thatched house in Riverside suburb.
The fire broke out on Monday afternoon and fire fighters were called in, only to completely put out the fire on Wednesday around 5PM.The owner of the house and the person who is leasing it are both said to be outside  the country.

Bulawayo chief fire officer Richard Peterson confirmed that the fire brigade only managed to put out the fire after struggling for 72 hours.

Only the house’s roof was damaged.

“Firemen worked very hard and they managed to put out the fire after three days,” he said.

He said although the fire brigade mobilised manpower from many of its fire stations, the fire fighters had to work round the clock for three days to put out the fire as the 30 centimetre thick thatch continued to burn.

Peterson said the reason why firemen took long to put out the fire was the thickness of the thatch.

According to Freedom Sibanda, an employee at the house, the inferno was started by a veld fire.

“After the house caught fire, I immediately called the fire brigade who came and started fighting the fire but could not put it out until Wednesday afternoon,” said Sibanda.

Peterson warned residents against starting veld fires.

“The fire season has started and residents should not start veld fires and should immediately report any veld fires,” he said.

The city has of late recorded an increase in the number of houses gutted by fire and in some cases the fires have claimed lives.