A South African-bound Good Riders bus went up in smoke and was burnt to ashes while parked at the Kwekwe Intercity Bus Terminus.
There were no passengers on board when the incident occurred on Friday morning.
When the news crew arrived at the scene, the entire bus was engulfed in flames while members of the public watched in shock.
The Kwekwe City fire department was in no-show and the Redcliff Municipality fire tender only arrived after about 45 minutes.
Members of the public were outraged by the development and had to be restrained from manhandling the fire team.
Witnesses said the fire started from the backseat of the bus.
“We saw smoke coming out of the parked bus before it caught fire which started from the back seat and it started spreading across the whole bus. There was nothing we could do as the fire was moving fast,” said Mr Victor Dube, a vendor.
Another witness said the fire might have started from the engine.
“I think it’s a result of a fault in the engine. Because we just saw smoke then fire then it spread across the bus,” said Ms Sheron Ncube.
The incident brought to the fore the inefficiency of the Kwekwe City Council fire department which has been found wanting in most fire incidents.
Recently Calvary Sports Bar in Amaveni was razed by an inferno and the city fire tender never set foot there.
When a fire gutted Doctors’ residences at Kwekwe General Hospital last year, the fire tender arrived without water and the firefighters could not locate hydrants.
The residences were reduced to ashes.
Kwekwe Mayor Councillor Albert Zinhanga said they were still investigating what transpired at the bus incident.
“We would like to acknowledge all the complaints and frustration from residents regarding the bus incident that happened earlier today. It is indeed regrettable. We want to assure you residents that we are going to get to the bottom of this issue,” he said.
“We feel your pain, anger, and frustration. We are busy compiling reports from different stakeholders regarding this incident. As soon as we finish we will inform you,” he said.
Cllr Zinhanga acknowledged that the fire department was inept.
“We must protect properties in the city. We will not hide behind a finger. I however appeal to you to allow the investigations to take place so that we find the problem and solve it,” he said.
Mayor Zinhanga said Kwekwe City has two fire tenders.
“We have 1 functional plus another brand new one that we received this past week from the Government, those from Belarus,” he said. Chronicle
Source HarareLive
