By Bahle Gama
Damages worth thousands have been attributed to a suspected electrical fault at Ka-Boyce High School teachers’ quarters where a fire broke out.
According to witnesses, at around 10:30 a.m., smoke was spotted coming out of windows by pupils who were in their classroom at the school, who ran and rushed to fetch buckets of water and attempted to put out the fire from the one-story building.
In one of the houses where the fire is said to have originally started from, everything was torched to the point of no recognition, from furniture to clothing items. Witnesses claimed that there was a person who was sleeping in the house who was woken up by smoke and blazing flames that were reaching for the ceiling.
“She was so shocked that she ran out of the house crying and not knowing what to do as neighbours and pupils tried to put out the fire,” said a witness.
Personnel from the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC), Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), and Eswatini National Fire and Emergency Service were found at the scene all executing their duties, from inspecting the house to taking statements and putting out the fire.
EEC and REPS personnel stated that an investigation was yet to be done to find out what the cause of the fire was, as it was too early to say.
Meanwhile, Eswatini Fire Service Mbabane Station Commander Lucky Hlatshwako said upon arrival they found damage that was beyond repair which showed that the fire had broken out for quite some time without anyone noticing it.
“The distance from the station to the scene is very short and had we received the call as soon as the fire broke out, the damages would not have been this bad. We are yet to find out the cause of the fire once all stakeholders have concluded their investigations,” he said.
A teacher whose house sustained a few damages compared to that of her neighbour stated that she would have to spend about E10 000 for repairs and replacing some of the items that were damaged in her house.
She further expressed her concern towards the damages incurred by her colleague whom she further disclosed has been on sick leave.
“Tonight we all have to find a place to sleep, and for them, it is even worse because they have lost everything,” she said.
