Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Soweto Market on fire
Fire last night swept through Lusaka’s Soweto Market destroying six makeshift restaurants and two makeshift bars.
However, quick response by Lusaka City Council (LCC) Fire Brigade last night contained the possible fire disaster at the market.
The fire started around 21:00 hours from one of the makeshift restaurants.
LCC Assistant Public Relations Manager George Sichimba says alert marketeers noticed the fire immediately called the toll free line 993 and the LCC fire brigade quickly responded by dispatching all the four new fire tenders.
Mr. Sichimba says the fire was in no time contained except for six makeshift restaurants and two makeshift bars which had already been completely gutted by the time the team arrived at the scene.
He says preliminary investigations indicate that the fire started from one of the makeshift restaurants as a result of the cooking pot which was left on the blazier unattended.
Mr. Sichimba tells QTV News that it is alleged that the boy who was cooking something in the affected shop left the pot on the blazier to go and watch Brazil Vs Belgium soccer match at the nearby pub.
He discloses that the boy was so much taken by the thrilling game forgetting that he left the pot on fire which resulted in the contents burning and the fire spread to nearby shops.
The LCC Assistant Public Relations Manager has since warned that this is a fire prone period and marketeers and the general public should take extra care by not leaving fires unattended to.