A fire suspected to be electrical in origin has completely destroyed a workers’ living quarters and a storeroom of a Kwakwani businessman on Wednesday.
Based on reports received, the fire started at about 11:30h, following a series of power outages in the area. The businessman, Insham Ali Bacchus, is counting his losses, which are estimated to be in the millions.
According to an eyewitness, a small fire started on a transformer, and subsequently, the workers’ living quarters and storeroom went up in flames. The Kwakwani Utilities Incorporated was immediately contacted to disconnect the power.
The building fully engulfed
The Fire Service was also immediately summoned, but eyewitnesses say firefighters arrived at the scene an hour later, with a water supply that lasted for less than one minute.
In the meantime, a bucket brigade was formed by public-spirited citizens and workers, and it resulted in the fire being doused and ultimately saving Bacchus’s home – a flat concrete structure adjacent to the building that was destroyed by the inferno.
Bacchus is in the business of logging, and at the time of the fire, the storeroom had several generators, outboard engines, and over 15 chainsaws.
An investigation has been launched into the circumstances that caused the devastating fire.
