TWO disused National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) wagons caught fire in Bulawayo on Monday.

Bulawayo Fire Brigade acting chief fire officer Linos Phiri confirmed the incident yesterday.

“We received a call at 6:43pm on Monday that there was a fire at the NRZ materials yard, off Birkenhead Road in Bulawayo. On arrival, we found two disused railway wagons on fire and flames could be seen from a distance. The fire spread from the first to the second wagon, and it almost caught the third wagon,” he said.

“The first wagon was almost completely burnt, indicating that the fire had been burning for a while before being reported.”

Phiri said sparks from the grinder used to cut metal is believed to have caused the fire.

NRZ acting spokesperson Martin Banda yesterday confirmed the fire outbreak.

“I am advised that Panel Link, which bought scrap metals, were the ones that accidentally started the fire, and they left before they noticed it,” he said.

“The fire then spread and burnt the wagons which they were buying scrap from.”

-Newsday