Council fails to deal with raging fire

MARONDERA- Residents, the business community and other stakeholders have joined in
the chorus for the Municipality of Marondera to be well-equipped and prepared when it
comes to dealing with emergency issues.

The collaborated call comes in the wake of an unfortunate fire incident which left bare the
local authority’s ill-preparedness in dealing with such disasters.
Several cars were recently reduced to shells in an inferno at Top Gear Panel Beaters, which
is one of the several garages at the Marondera industrial site.

The inferno which left several motorists counting their losses broke out a stone’s throw away
from the local authority’s fire, ambulance and security department.
Vehicles that were awaiting either to be serviced or repaired were parked inside the huge
building when the fire broke out and the Marondera fire brigade could not attend to the fire
as its single fire tender was away for service.

The council officials called for assistance from the City of Harare but it took a while for the
fire engine from the capital to arrive and when it eventually did, the cars in the garage had
already been destroyed.
Deputy police spokesperson for Mashonaland East province, Assistant Inspector Misheck
Denhere said the cause of the fire was yet to be established. At the time of writing,
investigations on the incident were in progress.
The exact number of vehicles that were reduced to ashes could not be ascertained but
sources close to investigations said they could be more than 18.

Following the unfortunate incident residents and other ratepayers said the council should up
its game when it comes to dealing with such emergencies.
Marondera Progressive Residents and Ratepayers Association (MAPRRA) chairman Golden
Munjoma said the local authority should prioritise acquiring another fire tenders so that it can
immediately attend to fire disasters.

“This is a very sad situation and it has unfortunately exposed the council's ill-preparedness
to respond to disaster especially. What makes this incident in particular so sad is the fact
that the fire broke out a few meters away from the fire brigade office and had the council
been well-equipped, they could have swiftly responded to put out the fire and avoid the
losses incurred by the motorists whose vehicles were burnt.

“As an association, we are encouraging the local authority to consider acquiring another fire
tender vehicle so that at least one will be on standby at all times because a fire can break
out at any time like what happened in this case. I am of the opinion that in this particular
incident, council personnel in this section could have tried to think outside the box and
improvise by using their water bowser and a pump to extinguish the fire,” Munjoma said.
The same sentiments were echoed by Marondera Urban Business Forum (MUBF)
chairperson Emmanuel Danha who suggested that council should strive to have its priorities
right at all times.
He said: “It is important for our council to be well-equipped with resources that are required
to deal with every situation and most importantly, those that have the consequence of

destroying people’s properties. It is very sad for one to lose one’s property in circumstances
that can be dealt with immediately only if priorities on the council’s side are rightly taken.”
In a statement, Marondera Residents Open Forum (MAROF) director Tapiwa Chengeta said:
“The recent fire outbreak which torched 18 vehicles at a garage which is about 20 meters
from the fire deport has exposed the council’s preparedness to disaster response. Had the
council been ready to respond to the incident, property worth thousands of dollars would
have been saved. As MAROF we call upon the incoming team of councillors to urgently look
at the needy areas and give the required attention.’
Former Marondera executive Mayor, Alderman Ralph Chimanikire, said lack of equipment at
the department of fire and ambulance for Marondera Municipality was a cause of great
concern.
“This incident is a tragedy which has pained us and it has affected the young entrepreneur
who was working here. I am one of his clients and he has been doing well and his efforts
and that of his other clients whose vehicles were reduced to ashes are now up in smoke.
“The unfortunate part is they could not get help to extinguish this fire. Something has to be
done by the Municipality of Marondera so that they become pro-active and react to issues
like this one. We are so worried because a lot of vehicles have been destroyed. If only
assistance had come in time, some vehicles were going to be saved,” Chimanikire said.

Gideon Chauke, another resident challenged the local authority to be in possession of a
functional fire and ambulance department which can swiftly respond to disasters at all times.
He said: “Imagine the council failing to provide assistance to this tragedy. What if the
building was housing people and they fail to get help? It is unimaginable because they could
have all lost their lives. We call upon the council to ensure that this department is fully
equipped.”
Cecilia Chiwara, a witness who lives near the garage said when the fire broke out, she
rushed to the council’s fire brigade offices and was told that they did not have equipment to
assist.
“When I first saw that there was some smoke coming out from the building, I immediately got
in touch with the owner of this garage and told him about the fire. I then rushed to the fire
and ambulance site which is close to the garage to inform them but they told me that they
did not have any vehicle to use.
“After getting that response, I then made contact with the Harare fire department and they
responded but by the time they got here, the fire had already destroyed all the vehicles in the
building,” she said.
In the aftermath of the incident, the Municipality of Marondera’s public relations officer
Kudakwashe Tapfumaneyi in a statement regretted what had happened as a council.
He added that when the fire broke out, their tender vehicle had already gone for service and
they had to seek assistance from the City of Harare.

“The council fire tender was out on routine service and could not be used to respond to the
accident. We then enlisted the assistance of Harare City emergency services who managed
to attend to the accident. Council is liaising with the police and other authorities to try to
determine the cause of the fire,” Tapfumaneyi said.

He said Marondera Municipality was expecting to receive a new fire tender from the new
fleet which was recently commissioned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.