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Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
A Banket primary school girls dormitory was on Sunday night gutted by fire suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault. Little could be salvaged from the dormitory when fire swept through the entire second floor just before 8pm. Children were not affected as the fire started about 10 minutes before their return from study. The fire raged for about three hours, with the community moving in to help put it out. Using buckets, the community managed to suppress the fire before the fire brigade, which came all the way from Harare arrived after 11pm.

Chinhoyi Fire Brigade, which is about 21 kilometres away, failed to respond to the distress call. Banket Town has no fire tender, which calls into question the state of preparedness of local authorities in the event of a major disaster. School head Mr Nelson Nzombe said the fire could have started from the matron’s room.

“The fire started from the second floor and we suspect for now that it could have been an electrical fault,” he said.

The nearly 96 boarders were taken to Sinoia Primary School in Chinhoyi, where they will be accommodated until the second floor in renovated. The fire destroyed beds, clothes, food and property belonging to teachers and the matron. When The Herald visited the school on Sunday evening, a water tank that is carrying out road rehabilitation works was helping with water that was being used by the community to try and put out the fire.

“If it was not for the truck that has been helping with water, it would have been very difficult to put out the fire,” said Mr Johnson Tembo, who was helping to put out the fire. The community acted quickly to put out the fire using buckets.”

Mr Tembo expressed concern at the failure to respond by Chinhoyi Fire Brigade and the general lack of emergency services.

“Harare reacted quickly judging by the time they have arrived from a distance of about 95 kilometres, compared to Chinhoyi which is about 21 kilometres away,” said another Banket resident.