Source: Byo SME centre goes up in flames – The Southern Eye
PROPERTY worth millions of dollars was destroyed yesterday morning when Spamprikini Entrepreneurship Incubation Centre in Mpopoma, Bulawayo, went up in flames.
The fire brigade turned up late without water, Southern Eye has heard.
Entrepreneurs operating from the centre manufacture sofas, wardrobes and other household furniture.
Centre chairperson Khozanayi Mlambo told Southern Eye that he found the place already in flames around 7am, adding that everything had been burnt.
“We got here in the morning and found everything already burning. We don’t know what happened exactly. Everything was burnt including machines, 1 000 rolls of material, finished products and compressors were destroyed and nothing was recovered,” he said.
A resident who witnessed the inferno told Southern Eye that he saw the fire very early in the morning, adding that the fire brigade took long to respond.“I saw the fire at around 5am and as residents we came out to try and save some things. We managed to save a few sofas but the fire was just too ferocious. The fire brigade came late and did not have water. A lot of things could have been saved if it wasn’t for that,” a resident, who preferred anonymity, said.
Bulawayo chief fire officer Linos Phiri said he was still assessing the extent of the damage.
“We are still investigating the issue,” he said curtly.
The total cost of the property destroyed, and what was saved could not be ascertained yesterday.
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