MORE than 10 fire incidences caused by violent protestors
were reported since Monday, with the Bulawayo Fire Brigade failing to attend to
some due to threats against fire fighters in some suburbs.
Bulawayo Chief Fire Officer Mr Richard Peterson yesterday
said they had received more than 10 reports of fire incidents since Monday.
“I don’t have the exact figure with me because I’m not in
the office but we received more than 10 reports of fire between Monday and
yesterday and we didn’t manage to attend to all of them due to the situation.
“On Monday our vehicle was attacked by violent
demonstrators while responding to the Choppies fire in Pumula even though we
were being escorted by the police.
Fortunately the vehicle was not damaged and there were no
injuries,” said Mr Peterson.
He said the Fire Brigade was responding to fire incidences
from one fire station in Famona suburb because the situation forced them to
close other stations.
“The demonstrators were threatening to burn the Nketa Fire
Station so we decided to close it and we drew all the workers to Famona. We’re
operating with a team of a few Fire Fighters because the rest are grounded at
their homes. It’s quite a challenge,” said Mr Peterson.
He said it was unfortunate that emergency services had
failed to save some buildings from fire but the situation was beyond their
control.
“As emergency services, we’re always ready to save people’s
properties from fire but the situation did not allow us to attend to all of
them. We’re working with the police to do our work but we also have to be
vigilant because the demonstrators get more violent when they see police
officers,” said Mr Peterson.
He urged demonstrators to redirect their energy to engaging
the Government, saying destroying properties will not resolve issues.
“I would like to urge people to stop looting and burning
buildings because this creates more problems for us. Destroying properties is
not necessary. Now people have lost jobs and their livelihoods will be
affected. In this case people claim to have issues with the Government but
they’re destroying properties. They’re simply turning against each other not
the so-called target,” said Mr Peterson.
Some suspects started appearing in court yesterday in
connection with the looting and violent attacks as police continue to make more
arrests.
National police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul
Nyathi warned the demonstrators against violence and said anyone caught on the
wrong side of the law would be arrested and dealt with accordingly. Chronicle
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