By Takudziridzwa Nyama
Harare-A massive fire razed the retail side of Mbare Musika last night as property worth hundreds of thousands was turned into ashes.
Mbare Musika is one of the busiest market were a lot people sell a variety of food items and other wares, it is literally the financial hub of the Small to Medium Enterprises in the country.
While cause of the fire remains unknown as investigations continue, with the fire team gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses, it is clear the damage and losses is massive and some SME’s might never recover from the incurred losses.
The amount of properties that were destroyed at Mbare Musika are not yet ascertained but it runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The fire brigade responded promptly arriving within 15 minutes to get to the fire
In an interview with Ziyah News Network, Harare City Council Head of Corporate Communication Stanley Gama said the fire caused commotion as some traders tried to recover their wares.
“There were thousands of people some trying and failing to take their wares before being destroyed, they were trucks, cars, carts and many people on way so they virtually blocked fire tenders from going and going back to reload water,” he said.
He also added that the firefighting teams faced challenges accessing the area as people looting and trying to salvage anything they could blocked the way.
“The fire hydrants around the area are not working they were vandalised. We then asked the police for help to clear the paths to the fire. Eventually the police reaction team came and did a fantastic job clearing people and our tenders and water tankers eventually accessed the fire, “said Stanley Gama.
As the fire razed, volunteers mobilised 90 000 liters of water to help the fire tenders and make sure they would not drive back to the depot for water reloading. As investigations continue, traders are counting their losses as a result of the fire and some may never be able to recover from the financial low blow.