The Sunday News
Fairness Moyana, Hwange Correspondent
PROPERTY worth thousands of dollars was on Thursday destroyed after fire razed down three chalets belonging to an environmental organisation, Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM) near Victoria Falls following a suspected electric fault in one of the structures.
ACHM executive director Mr Huggins Matanga said he suspected the fire was caused by a surge in power that resulted in a spark that ignited the thatched chalet before spreading to other buildings.
He said property worth between $360 000 and $500 000 was destroyed including furniture, equipment, three chalets, a dining room and a garage.
“Yes, I can confirm that we lost property worth thousands of dollars in a fire that was caused by an electrical fault emanating from a power surge when power was restored back by Zesa. It seems it started off in one of the chalets when power kept fluctuating resulting in a DVD player catching fire which quickly engulfed the whole room before spreading to the others. We are still in shock as this happened within minutes,” said Mr Matanga.
He said it was by God’s intervention that the fire did not spread to the main hall and a house occupied by one of the employees which houses gas cylinders.
Mr Matanga said some workers almost got injured while trying to put out the fire.
“Some of the employees almost got burnt as they tried to save furniture and equipment. Our hoses failed to put out the fire because of the low water pressure. In the end when the fire brigade from Victoria Falls arrived, the buildings had been razed to the ground,” he said.
He said the organisation’s activities which include safaris, accommodation and training were likely to be gravely affected by the fire incident.
The centre runs Dimbangombe Safari Lodge which provides budget accommodation to training groups and families as well as a Wildlife, Agriculture and Conservation Management College which is part of the Okavango Zambezi Transfrontier Area.
Founded in 1992 by Allan Sauvory, a Zimbabwean-born ecologist, the organisation has been very instrumental in enhancing livelihoods through demonstration of the effectiveness of holistic management in restoring lost bio-diversity through mobile paddocks and land restoration.
