Inferno destroys house, property in Mpika

A family of TAZARA area in Mpika district has been left homeless after a fire burnt their five bedroomed house and destroyed all the property in the process.

Mpika District Commissioner Sampa Muswema has confirmed the incident to (ZANIS) and said the fire started around 08:00 hours from one of the bedrooms and spread to the other rooms.

Mr. Muswema said all the property, including a pile of mattresses, has been destroyed in the fire.

“The only thing that the fire fighters managed to retrieve in this house is a couch, the rest of the property in all the rooms have been destroyed,” he said.

Mr. Muswema said it was fortunate that no life was lost in the inferno and has since thanked Mpika fire fighters for the quick response.

The District Commissioner disclosed that the house, belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Sininza caught fire while both of were out of the district for work and only the children were present at the time of the accident.

He added that one of the sons present, Robby Sininza, aged 19, explained how the fire started.

“Government is saddened by the accident and we will see how best the family can be helped seeing that their home has been destroyed,” said Mr. Muswema.

And one of the sons to the owners of the house, Robby Sininza explained that the fire started from the main bedroom which was locked at the time.

He said one of his siblings saw smoke emanating from the roof of the house and rushed to call him to check where it was coming from.

Meanwhile, Mpika District Divisional Fire Officer Reuben Munkonde said the cause of fire and the value of the property lost are yet to be ascertained.

Mr. Munkonde has since appealed to people in the TAZARA community to quickly notify the fire brigade whenever a fire breaks out so that property and lives can be saved in good time.

“It is unfortunate that in this era of social media people are quick to take videos of the accident instead of finding solutions to help the victims. It is sad that some neighbours started by taking videos instead of calling for help,” he said.