The Sunday News
THE death of four children in a fire incident in Matabeleland South’s Matobo District on Friday morning made sad reading and put into perspective the dangers of keeping flammable liquids in undesignated places such as homes.
Three of the four children were burnt to ashes while a fourth died on the way to hospital after a fire gutted a shop they were sleeping in at Tshiphisane Village. Limukani Mguni (20), who was sleeping with the children aged between two and 11 is admitted to the United Bulawayo Hospitals where he is being treated for severe burns.
According to a story carried yesterday by our sister paper Chronicle, Mguni left a gas stove on and it ignited a petrol container which exploded in the children’s bedroom. The incident has brought shock to the otherwise serene Kezi area known at this time of the year for the high number of Zimbabweans returning home for the festive season from neighbouring South Africa where hundreds of them are employed.
Although it is not proper to blame anyone for the incident as it is unAfrican to point fingers at each other during bereavement, we still feel the incident could have been avoided if due care had been taken by the family.
It is dangerous on its own to leave a gas stove on and secondly it is equally dangerous to keep petrol in the house as this type of fuel is very flammable.
Petrol is a highly flammable liquid and must be stored, transported and handled with extreme care. The risk of injury, environmental damage, fire or explosion can only be significantly reduced if people are aware of the dangers associated with petrol.
According to experts vapour from petrol is heavier than air and care must, therefore, be taken to avoid handling petrol in or near a source of ignition such as naked light, smoking, heaters and hot engines.
It is against this background that we urge our people especially the business community to avoid keeping petrol in their houses as this is not the first time incidents of this nature have happened where people have either been injured or killed in residential premises as a result of a petrol fire. Property worth thousands of dollars has also been lost from such incidents.
Our people, especially the business community, should also learn to separate petrol from any occupied building and if it is kept in a building, that type of structure should be adequately ventilated and lockable to prevent unauthorised access.
As the affected family and the community are still trying to come to terms with this traumatising and painful incident, the political leadership in the district has appealed to the Government for assistance for the bereaved family.
The Member of Parliament for Matobo South, Cde Soul Mahalima Ncube, said the family had lost everything and at this moment in time was not in a position to harness the resources to bury its beloved ones, who lost their lives at a very early age.
“They have lost everything. The mother who is the owner of the shop lost children, property and money. Literally, they are left with nothing. They will need to bury the children and I don’t know where that money will come from. I am appealing to the Government and well-wishers to assist the family,” said Cde Ncube.
We, therefore, call on the Government arms in the district and elsewhere as well as other people to come forward and assist the bereaved family in the true spirit of ubuntu, a concept that places value on humaneness, caring, sharing and compassion.
The sorrow that has visited the bereaved family is also every right thinking Zimbabwean’s sorrow and the burden of burying those innocent souls should be shared.
