Fire guts a house in the city
A fire gutted a small concrete house at the corner of Mahogany Street Extension and Jasmine Street. Sometime around three-thirty this morning, the fire erupted and minutes later it was extinguished by the Fire Department. The house, which also served as a garage was occupied by forty-eight year old Nigerian national, Bokang Nyathi. According to Nyathi, he left the building secured and six hours later, it was completely destroyed by the blaze. News Five spoke today with the Operations Officer of the National Fire Service, Benisford Matura.
Benisford Matura, Operations Officer, National Fire Service
“Upon arrival, a bungalow structure was totally engulfed in flames; more flames coming out from the roof area. This structure was occupied by Mister Prince Bokang Nyathi, a Nigerian. He was a mechanic and also sold used parts from out of the structure. We got into operation and extinguished the fire. The owner of the building was Mister Wang Chang, I believe a Chinese national. We got into operation and extinguished the fire within twenty minutes.”
Reporter
Benisford Matura
“Sir, are you guys able to tell us at this time what was the cause of the fire initially?”
Benisford Matura
“Presently, we still have investigators trying to sort out what caused it. I can tell you that the fire started somewhere in the center of the building in the ceiling area.”
Reporter
“Sir but the report is saying that of course no electricity was there?”
Benisford Matura
“We are aware that there is no electricity there, but like I said, we showed signs, the area of origin is from a high point in the ceiling. We are still investigating what might have been there to cause that.”
Reporter
“Any apparent access from the top?”
Benisford Matura
“No, no, the building was…well from the top, it was sealed. So we can’t see where they can access from the top.”
Reporter
“Sir so then, with the absence of that type of evidence, does it suggests that it may be natural causes?”
Benisford Matura
“I can’t tell at this moment what may have caused it; we only know that the area was somewhere high up in the ceiling.”
The building and its contents were not insured and the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
