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Flora Fadzai Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter

BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of a fire fighter who was burnt while fighting a veld fire at Nust.

Council has since said investigations into the death Mr Fanyana Dick Shuluma have so far been inconclusive, but it hopes to get to the bottom of the matter.

The firefighter, who is survived by a wife, two sons and a daughter, died two days after the incident at Mater Dei Hospital.

His family suspects foul play.

Bulawayo chamber secretary, who is also the acting town clerk, Sikhangele Zhou, said council can neither confirm nor deny allegations of foul play by the family but hopes a post-mortem or inquest, if such is deemed necessary, will shed light on the issue.

“The investigations are not yet conclusive and we hope to get to the bottom of the issue. Fire fighting is a dangerous exercise and any strategy should ensure the safety of the whole crew. Any strategy should be communicated to the whole crew. 

“Communication with the whole crew is critical and we are investigating whether such communication and accounting for by the officer in charge did everything as per laid down procedure,” she said.

Mrs Zhou said council was looking into the matter of compensating the deceased’s family.

“I have referred the matter regarding compensation to the human capital director. The department and council share the grief of the family and sends its heartfelt and sincere condolences to Shuluma’s family, friends and colleagues,” she said.

In an interview earlier this week, the late firefighter’s wife Ms Pretty Ncube told Chronicle that she does not understand how her husband could have been burnt by a “grass fire” as he was an expert in firefighting, a job he had done for nearly 25 years.

“My husband had been a firefighter for the past 24 years. He knew how to deal with fires. If it had been a house fire and I was told something fell on him and trapped him then maybe I would find it easy to believe. 

“However, to be told he was burnt to a point where he looked like fried meat by a grass fire is really giving me a hard time to believe. I know when the time has come nothing can prevent anyone from leaving. However, I am really not satisfied with the way my husband’s death is said to have happened,” she said.

Ms Ncube said the narrative around how her husband got burnt is still not clear.

“I am told they went to attend the fire as a team. From what I have always been told by my husband the team is supposed to cover up for each other so where were colleagues who were supposed to cover for him when he got burnt? We are, however, being told his team did not realise that he had been burnt and was no longer with them till they had moved for something like a kilometre from where he was burnt. 

“How could a team continue working and not realise one of them was down? The team called an ambulance which came and ferried him to Mater Dei Hospital where he was immediately put under Intensive Care. 

“All this happened at around 2PM but I was only notified about the incident at around 5PM. My question is why did they take so long to come and tell me about the incident? I am filled with a lot of questions which his bosses are failing to answer,” added Ms Ncube. – @flora_sibanda